A Kinda Life We Never Had the Chance to Live, So Lets Enjoy Our Dreams
by GoLdensummertime
Summary: An au where the powers of the characters and their deaths have been changed around. The pasts are dark and sad, and the characters will be ooc concerning the main series. Ships will be kanokido, harutaka, setomary and shinaya, mostly. Momo arc in progress
1. One Golden Piece

Chapter One: One Golden Piece

* * *

"I swear, Haruka, you need to get out of your room once in a while!" Haruka heard his parents yell from downstairs as he finished another layer of his art. He gave a long sigh, and turned up his music more, blaring enough through his headphones so that Pashonyan was discreet enough to start yelling. Normally he would just tease him and/or let his parents yell again. At least sometimes the virus was serious.

Haruka glanced at Pashonyan's clothes after turning down his music. He wore a hoodie with checkers on the hood, and the color faded from a grey/black to a light grey brim on the bottom. His pants were rather tight for Haruka's taste, and his shirt was a medium grey color, tucked into his pants which were adorned with a brown belt. his pants faded away into glitches, so feet were nonexistent. Haruka touched on the fact of what his shoes would look like for a few seconds before Pashonyan ripped him out of his stupor. "Ha-chan, I'm bored and you look hot lets go get ice cream and ride on a roller coaster."

Haruka touched up a corner of the background. "No. I'm not overly fond of sweets like that."

"That's a lie, I know you like to eat." Pashonyan changed Haruka's brush so that he wouldn't have to waste time going to the sidebar. Haruka was thankful for that, though, and Pashonyan was at least useful sometimes.

"I didn't say I didn't like to eat, I just said that sweets weren't my thing." Haruka gave a lazy sigh, releasing his mouse and leaning back in his chair, hearing the protests of the springs inside. He should get around to replacing his chair… Maybe there was a discount on an online store this week.

Pashonyan gave a sigh. "At least do something other than art… No offence, but just watching you make picture after picture of the same girl can be rather disheartening."

Haruka closed his eyes. "Sorry, but its my computer, I can do what I want. Besides, I want to at least be able to make as many pictures as possible before I forget what her face looked like…" He trailed off, the room going silent and the mood dropping again.

Pashonyan was silent. "I know, but… Maybe you could see some of your old friends instead." He pulled up a picture from the pictures file labeled 'school days' and zoomed in on it. A picture of five people were evident, one being Haruka, one being the girl in the picture, and three being other friends/classmates; one had blonde hair and was grinning, making a peace sign, one was a girl with a smile on her face, holding hands with the black haired boy who was slightly glaring, but his eyes were happy. He was skinny, though.

Haruka gave a sigh and closed out the picture. "Two of those people are dead, you know. And one of them is probably dead by now, if not bed-ridden for life."

"Pessimist." Pashonyan puffed up his cheeks and settled in the bottom corner, tossing around a shimeji that he had downloaded from some site. "I wanna DO something…"

Haruka gave a sigh. "Let's play the 'what made pa-chan come up with a name like that' game."

"I told you, its for passion and nyan~" Pashonyan made a face, holding up his hands like cat ears. At least he had cat like eyes. What kind of person would make a virus like that?

"So you're telling me that your name is basically passion cat?" Haruka smirked.

"Passion nyan!" Pashonyan rolled across the bottom of the screen, giggling. Haruka gave another sigh, shaking his head.

"How old are you again, Haruka? I forgot~" Pashonyan paused his giggling enough to talk normaly.

"I'm nineteen…"

"Ah. I'm sixteen, before you ask."

"I wasn't going to." Haruka leaned back into his chair, bored with art for the time being. "I'm not interested in other people's lives."

"How on earth did you survive school." Pashonyan flinched as he realized what he had said, and looked down.

Haruka ignored him. "Apology accepted."

"Ah~h, gomen gomen." Pashonyan looked down and gave another sigh. "If all you want to do is stay inside, then I guess I'll just stay in here as well. I can look up more tutorials for art online."

Haruka glanced at the cyber being and rolled his eyes. "I guess a little walk won't hurt, since my last one was a few months ago."

Pashonyan visibly perked up. "Yay~ I'm glad you defy the definition of 'shut in'!"

"Hey now…"

. . .

Haruka fingered his phone, feeling the smooth screen cool his fingertips slightly. Pashonyan looked across the street at a gaggle of people. "There's some kind of commotion over there…" Haruka glanced across the street as well.

"Doesn't that look an awful lot like the boy in the picture?" Pashonyan tilted his head. "He has the same stature and everything…"

"You're just seeing things. The boy I knew died years ago." Haruka turned to go down the other way where a supermall was located.

"That's only two years, for you." Pashonyan gave a whine. "Let's go see what the ruckus is about anyway. The adrenaline rush should suit you well."

"I'm not into those things, adrenaline won't be pumping." Haruka headed across the street as the walk sign flashed on.

"If you say so." He turned on a piece of music that was being produced from a new idol. Haruka had dug deeper and found out that the idol did the lyrics and the composer also had a line of instrumental music, and he had bought it fairly quickly. The composer only went by a pen name, but it was enough for Haruka, who was easily satisfied when it came to music.

Pashonyan looked over the crowd as Haruka held his phone up. "Who's the person getting rioted over?"

"It's a boy about your age with black hair and a red jersey jacket thing. What poor fashion sense jeez. He also has a pair of headphones, and looks pretty worried. His hair is black, as I said before, and his eyes are brown or black… Now they're red. Black again. Red."

"Is the sun reflecting off of the screen too much? We are standing at a distance..." Haruka shook his head. No one could have red eyes.

"Nope, his eyes are definitely red. The people are even talking about it." Pashonyan settled down slightly as Haruka lowered his phone. He stepped forward, heading across the street, able to make his way to the front of the crowd to see this strange red-eye person. It was interesting enough to catch Haruka's attention, so Pashonyan was glad.

Pashonyan fell across the screen as the phone shifted violently. "Hey Ha-chan, what's the big deal?!" He looked up at Haruka's pale face, jaw slightly agape.

"S-Shinarou?!"

* * *

Golden: Welcome to a new kagepro au story! For this story, I switched around the characters' deaths and powers with a randomizer. Their deaths were chosen separate from their powers, so, for example, Haruka has been stuck with the Shintarou side of the story (scissor death) but he won't be getting the 'memory' snake (I call it that because of the recent episode). If you can guess who the virus is, congrats to you! But they won't be dead because of poisoning~

I'll be planning carefully for this story, and I already have all of the backstories for the characters worked out, and I did not go easy with the happiness (except Hibiya and he doesn't have much of a backstory, so for him he works in the present plot-wise). I hope you have fun with the story. Happy reading~


	2. Aren't You Special

Chapter Two: Aren't You Special...

* * *

Shintarou looked over quickly as he heard his name being called by a familiar voice. It wasn't one of a screeching fan, so it deserved a portion of his attention, at least.

Haruka waved to try to get his attention fixated on a particular spot, and he saw Shintarou's eyes grow wide, surprised. "H-Haruka?!"

. . .

"Shintarou! I thought you were dead!" Haruka took another drink of hot chocolate, since, for the time being, Shintarou wasn't swamped with raving fans.

Shintarou set his can down. "I thought I _did_ die at one point, because I had this really strange dream about a classroom and Momo was in it… And I could see Ayano's desk and her cranes..."

"How is Ayano doing, come to think of it? After…" Haruka trailed off, looking to the side.

"She's managing fine. She moved into an apartment with Seto and Marry (she's the girl Seto found if you can't remember completely) and Momo and I help them with money and things like that." Shintarou moved his hands in an effort to convey the expressions of the others.

"Hmm…" Haruka finished his drink, thinking about how they were struggling before he left.

Pashonyan gave a cough. "Well, if you don't mind, could we pay them a visit? I'm sure they'd like to see Ha-chan after all these years, and I'd like to see some people that aren't Ha-chan and screaming parents…"

Shintarou closed his eyes, now acquainted with the virus well enough to not be startled. "I suppose Kido and Ayano would like to see you… And have you help with chores, considering you've been locked up in your room for god knows how long." He ended the sentence with a glint in his eyes, and Haruka shuddered to think about the basis for that look.

Pashonyan started rolling across the screen. "Ha-chan Ha-chan Ha-chan lets gooooooo!" He bumped a few apps, causing them to roll around as well.

Haruka gave a huff, annoyed. "Fine, fine! Now put the app shortcuts back where they were!"

Shintarou tilted his head slightly. "What kind of virus did you get on your phone? Your phone hasn't shorted out or anything because of it, has it? I can fix it."

"Eeeeeek!" Pashonyan gave a shriek as he put an app back. "I wanna stay here."

Haruka gave a sigh. "He's not really that much of a bother, and whoever made him was able to make something with human emotions and thoughts. So…"

Shintarou stood up after finishing his (millionth probably) soda, tossing the can in the garbage. "I'll show you to the apartment then."

Haruka stood up, handing his empty cup to a waiter, and following Shintarou out of the sliding glass doors, hearing the whirr of electronical success close them after he exited.

. . .

Shintarou waved his hand at a doorway to a small house in an apartment complex. It must be one of those new housing apartment things, Haruka figured. "This is where they live! I'm sure they'd love to see you after disappearing for two years." Haruka gave him a look and grunted, while Pashonyan laughed with a high pitched giggle, and Haruka ripped out his earbuds.

Shintarou gave a sigh. "Well, you did stay in your house for two years… Locked up… Alone..."

Pashonyan, after having freedom to talk to others after Haruka put his earbuds, not connected to the phone, in his pocket, gave a giggle again. "Well, occasionally he went to go outside to stroll around and stalk little girls~!"

"I'm not a pedo you stupid cat! Pa-chan, how rude!" Haruka gave a huff while Shintarou cracked a smile. He strolled over to the front door and gave a knock.

Haruka heard a young girl give a shriek, and an older boy was apologizing to her or something. 'What am I doing involving myself here…?' Haruka shook his head. 'I should probably wait… They must have an explanation...' The door was unlocked (Haruka could hear that the deadbolt was unlocked as well, so they must worry about safety, he assumed) and a boy about Pashonyan's age appeared, a girl behind him with very long white hair which, Haruka thought to himself, suited a sheep more.

"Are you… Haruka-senpai?" The boy blinked a few times.

Shintarou nodded, answering for him. "Yep~ You remember him, don't you Seto?"

Seto gave a happy nod, rushing out to hug the taller person, nearly crushing his ribs. "Ahh, Seto-san, you hug as hard as I remember…" Haruka choked out.

Seto gave a sheepish smile after letting go. "Well, I missed you!" He looked at the doorway where the girl was still standing. He waved at her. "You can say hi to Haruka-senapi."

Haruka gave a light blush. "You don't need to call me senpai anymore… I'm out of school anyway."

"Ahh ok then, Haruka-_san_." Seto watched as the girl slowly walked over to him. He lifted her up onto his back. "This is Haruka-san. I knew him when I was in school."

The girl blushed a bit and fidgeted. "N-Nice to meet you.. Haruka-kun…" She looked down quickly.

"Ahh, nice to meet you…" Haruka blinked. "What's your name?"

"Marry…" Her voice was quiet, like what Haruka would expect a rabbit to sound like if it could talk. Marry whispered something into Seto's ear, and he gasped. "I can't believe I forgot!" He gestured for everyone else to follow him into the house.

Haruka glanced at Shintarou with a look of confusion, and Shintarou just shrugged, following the older boy inside. He turned to a hallway with the girl on his back, going to a back room. He could hear pet food being disturbed.

Momo turned from the kitchen, along with Ayano and Kido, sweet smells coming from the tile floored room. She gave a smile along with Ayano, and Ayano rushed forward, forgetting that she had flour all over her apron. "Haruka-senpai! It's been too long!" She started to cry slightly.

Haruka felt his heart start to hurt. "Ahh… Don't cry…" He hugged her back while Pashonyan was yelling about "I wanna see the people here, hey Ha-chan I wanna seeeeeeeee!"

Marry grabbed the phone from Haruka's pocket, back from Seto's room feeding the pet, as he let Ayano go. "Who are you?"

"Ahh, sheep-girl, I'm Pashonyan! You can call me Pasho for short, or Pa-chan like Ha-chan does." He made a peace sign.

"S...Sheep… girl?" Marry looked like she was about to cry. Her eyes flashed red.

"Um… I thought your eyes were suppose to be pink…" Pashonyan trailed off.

Marry gave a huff, and wiped her eyes, handing the phone to Haruka. "It didn't work…"

Haruka gave a look to Pashonyan, who gave a confused look back, then turned back to Marry. "What didn't work?"

"Her eye power." Momo sat down, letting Kido take control of the cooking since she didn't look to be in the mood for talking to Haruka. "She can freeze people. Temporarily, at least."

"Eye… power?" He's lucky that he can't be frozen then, Haruka mused.

"Ahhh…" Pashonyan was suddenly serious. "Does it have to do with red eyes, by any chance?"

Momo nodded. "Correct. All of us here have red eyes." She turned her head slightly. "I figured it was ok to talk about it, since Haruka is a close friend after all… or at least was…" She gave him a look, then looked at Kido. The added part must have been for her.

Haruka gave a sigh. "I know I know." He waved his hand nonchalantly.

"What's Shintarou-kun's eye power then?" Pashonyan tilted his head.

"I attract people." Haruka stepped back slightly, and Pashonyan held in giggles. Shintarou's face went red. "Not like that! I mean-um-They pay attention to me when it's on!"

"Oh. Ok. I was thinking that this apartment would be some kind of harem." Haruka sat down, letting the words sink in, while Pashonyan erupted into laughter again. Haruka gave a smirk, having been teasing Shintarou.

Shintarou gave a wry smile. "Ahh, is that how it is?"

Momo gave a sigh, putting her face in her hands. "I get that you want to catch up on the little things, but large things are important as well."

"Uaaa, but jokes are fun, Momo-chan!" Pashonyan sulked.

Haruka turned. "Ah, Momo-chan, that's right. I thought that you died as well." Haruka raised his finger. "Since Shintarou, I know, died."

Momo nodded. "I was poisoned and killed by a strange man… I didn't know his name then, and I still don't know it now." She shrugged.

"That's really odd…" Pashonyan gave a sigh. "Do you have any of the strange powers?"

Momo nodded. "I'm still working on controlling it, though, so if I use it now, I'm afraid it would go out of whack…"

Haruka nodded. "It's ok, you don't need to show me." He turned to Ayano, Seto and Kido. "Do you three have the powers as well?"

Seto nodded for the three of them. "We've had our powers for as long as we can remember, so we have them under control." Ayano and Kido nodded along with him. Ayano stood up, moving to the TV to turn down the volume slightly as a loud commercial came on.

"So, can you show me what they are?" Pashonyan nodded as Haruka spoke.

Seto stood up. His eyes flashed red, and his hair shortened.

Haruka blinked. "Umm… That's great and all to have a personal hair-cutter but…"

"Ahh, I don't want to use the full extent of the power or else you'd freak out… I can basically change my body at will." Seto sat down after explaining to Haruka the details, Marry climbing into his lap.

Pashonyan hummed. "That's an interesting power… If you needed to do hard work, then you could just change yourself into a big, buff guy…"

"I don't want to use it a lot though, or else I'll lose sight of myself…" Seto gave a light laugh.

Ayano stood up next in an exaggerated motion. "Is there a store that you like, Haruka-senpai?"

Pashonyan raised his hand. "The supermall! Supermall!" He rolled over. "Office chairs office chairs we need an office chair!"

Haruka gave a sigh. "I know, Pa-chan, be patient." He set his phone on the table. He watched as Ayano started to concentrate on the wall, her eyes going red. Pashonyan watched her with a fixated adoration, and Haruka couldn't help but wonder why a virus would take interest in people.

Ayano's eyes dulled back to their dark color. "There's a sale on office chairs in one of the smaller stores on the south side. There's a long line, though, so they might sell out quickly…" She gave a sad sigh.

Haruka blinked. "How do you know that? Did you look it up online with your mind?"

"Ehh… That's my job…" Pashonyan slithered behind an open browser.

"No, I just looked at the store." Ayano smiled, closing her eyes. "My power is looking at things far away. It can be pretty useful, especially when a certain _someone_ forgets their cell and goes off to weird places…"

Seto stood up. "That reminds me that I need to get some shopping done, eheh. Come on, Marry…"

Marry stood up as Seto grabbed onto her hand. "But Kido and Momo didn't show their powers yet…" Seto hurried out the door with her in tow.

Haruka gave a sigh. "Do you have a lot of blackmail on Seto-san or something?" He looked at Kido. "So, what's your power?"

Kido gave a sigh. "Hopefully I don't scare you or anything, but…" She walked in front of where he was sitting, her eyes flashing red for a second.

Haruka jerked back. Pashonyan gave a cry of laughter, digital tears running down his face. "Ahh, you should turn into Shintarou-kun next so I can enjoy some shincest!"

"_What. Is. Wrong with you?!"_ Shintarou grabbed the phone, while Haruka continued to stare at a mirror image of himself.

"You… You're good…"

* * *

Golden: Eye powers now known for some main characters~ The plot for this one was mostly introducing characters, but without characters there won't be plot, so hang in there!

I updated the name of the chapter on the scrolling part (where you can go to a chapter instead of just clicking next). I thought I put the name but I guess I didn't. Tehe~

Happy Reading~


	3. Strum the Guitar Once Again

Chapter Three: Strum the Guitar Once Again

* * *

Haruka stretched as he finished washing the dishes in the not-white-anymore, soapy water, Marry drying them and putting them away with the help of Seto. Pashonyan was talking with Momo in an eager voice, about what Haruka wasn't sure, but he supposed that he should be heading home.

Kido turned her head as he told her that he would be heading home. She tilted her head. "I thought Shintarou told you that you were staying here for a while because your parents were glad that you finally got out." Her voice was as normal as it could have been, for such a weird topic.

'The little shit.' Haruka gave a sigh. "Ah… Is that so…" He gave a yawn. "I'll just sleep on the couch then, if you don't mind…"

"We have an extra bed." Seto walked over with Marry, the latter holding a book, and Haruka supposed that she wanted to read with Seto. "Since Shintarou-kun has a house where he's welcome, and Momo isn't of age, they didn't need to stay with us."

Haruka was silent for a few minutes. He gave a hum as he calculated and sorted his thoughts. "How many beds do you have total?"

Seto looked up for a second. "Kido, Ayano and I have beds, and there's one extra…" He counted on his fingers.

"Aren't you forgetting about Marry-chan…?" He gave a strained laugh. How could Seto forget about someone so important to him? Unless…

"Marry and I share a bed."

Of course. Considering their level of PDA, this wasn't really a surprise. Haruka shrugged. "Ok then… I guess I could stay for a little bit…" 'Not that I have a choice or anything, apparently, so I may as well act like I'm happy… Maybe I'll come to like this situation...'

"There's no 'I guess' about it…" Momo huffed, and Haruka sighed again. "Here, I'll show you to your room." She roughly grabbed Haruka's arm with one hand, the other holding his phone while Pashonyan stifled more laughs.

"Ahahaha Pa-chan's being led around by Momo-chan! Figures he would be the one being led around everywhere; he can't be dominant in a relationship at all!" He giggled with a high-pitched voice.

Haruka sighed again and grabbed his phone from Momo's grip, shoving it into his pocket. "I don't need any comments from you!" The sentence ended with a slight whine, only provoking the virus more.

Momo arrived at the door, putting her hand on the handle, slowly opening it up, as she released Haruka's arm with her other hand. Haruka coughed as a dusty cloud arrived so graciously at his lungs. Pashonyan gave a sigh. "You guys should dust more often…"

"Well, since this room only has a bed and a few furniture items, we don't go in it often, and Kido usually doesn't like us coming in here at all." Haruka shown the light of his phone about the room. "She's rather… touchy about some things." Momo glanced to the side, flipping on the light switch.

"Why is she so touchy about it?" Haruka walked into the room, looking at the desk, dresser, and bed in more detail. It wasn't like these few pieces of furniture could be of any great value, and they couldn't have been able to be damaged easily, at least from the view Haruka had.

Momo was silent for a few seconds. "Well… The person that these items belonged to… was special to Kido… and he left… a few years ago…" She looked down with a sad face.

Haruka blinked, feeling bad memories come up again. "I'm not going to ask about who this person was, so… Please don't tell me."

Momo nodded. "Ok." She gestured to the bed. "There's already sheets on it, clean and ready for you. You can dust off what you want to use, or leave it as it is." She gave a yawn and stretched, her back popping. "I'm going home. Do you have a list of things that you want from your house?"

"I'll tell Shintarou, since it would be less weird for him to pick my things up." Haruka laid down on the bed, placing his phone on the desk.

Momo nodded, backing out of the room and shutting the door. Haruka listened to his breathing for a few seconds. Pashonyan was quiet as well. "I wonder what kind of person was in this room… He doesn't seem to be a good caretaker…" he said, finally speaking up. He looked over at Haruka. "Ha-chan, lift me up, I want to see the whole room." There was silence. "Ha-chan?" Pashonyan looked as far up as possible to see Haruka's figure. He gave a soft breath. "He fell asleep…"

'I wonder if he's ok with this… He's hurt… I want to help...'

. . .

Shintarou handed Haruka a bag of clothes, the cheap plastic crinkling under his grasp. "Your mom says that she's fine with you staying here indefinitely." He gave a smirk.

"I love her too." Haruka gave a sigh, checking over the bag. He fingered some of his clothes. "Did they say anything else?"

"Just to stay healthy and not get sick or anything." Shintarou gave a light laugh. "I'm sure they added that on because of my past and how worried I made everyone…"

"It's no problem. Isn't that something parents are suppose to say anyway?" Haruka went over to 'his' room, set the bag down in the doorway, and walked back out to finish setting up the living room with Kido.

Momo gave a sigh after finishing the cooking with Ayano. "You two…"

Pashonyan laughed. "Well, Momo-chan, you can't expect a virgin hikiNEET to like his parents much…"

"How is that an insult exactly?" Haruka gave a sigh. "I like who I am…" He set the couch cushion back into its original position.

Kido hummed along to her iPod music. "It's a good thing to like who you are." She dusted the fan blades again.

Shintarou gave a shrug. "I guess in most cases, yes." He looked over at the kitchen. "Oi, Momo. Did you call dad this morning yet?"

"Yea, he said that you should set up a thing with the idol to discuss the problem." She handed a plate of food to Shintarou and to Haruka, setting three aside for herself, Ayano and Kido.

Pashonyan gave a sigh. "I wanna eat… I wanna taste food…" He rolled around Haruka's phone, grumbling about 'digital edibles' and the like. Shintarou gave a sigh and started eating, while Momo passed the plate to Kido as soon as she was dusting the fan, and put the stool away, so that a clumsy person (Haruka assumed it was Ayano) wouldn't trip over it while doing some other random thing.

He gave a sigh and glanced at his phone. "You can't die or anything like that, so why are you worrying about something as taxing as eating?"

'The Haruka I knew wouldn't say that...' Ayano shook her head. "If he wants to eat, and wishes to, you shouldn't bash on it, Haruka-senpai." Ayano looked away sadly. "At least he's here, alive and living and being a human, or as close as he can get, now…"

Haruka blinked. "Ahh…"

Pashonyan gave a forced chuckle. "Ahh, Ayano… -chan, it's fine, Pa-chan is normally thick after all…" He gave a light laugh to force himself to be happy, after realizing that the chuckle made everyone feel worse. "You can't blame him."

Kido tilted her head. Momo gave a forced laugh as well. "W-well if you don't mind, I'm heading out to my job…" She grabbed her brother's arm, and the pair headed out.

Haruka turned, his eyes closed. He finished his breakfast and tossed his phone to Ayano, who sloppily caught it (why did he toss it to her in the first place, he wondered later) and walked to 'his' room, closing the door softly.

Kido gave a sigh. "He seems sorry for not being careful with his words…"

"Maybe I should have worded it differently…" Ayano gave a hum.

Pashonyan gave a light laugh. "No, you're fine, although comparing me to a human is kind of odd, although with the syntax, you made it seem as if I was a human before… At least, that's what it sounded like to me." He added on.

"Well, I was in a rush, and I just wanted to stick up for you…" Ayano had tears in his eyes and Pashonyan felt his heart skip a beat. He didn't like making people cry.

"Ahh, it's ok, I would have probably done the same thing." He waved his hand in an apologetic manner. He looked behind him as a text popped up. Ayano blinked as he opened it and read it. "Oh yay, my purchase went through~ I'll be getting the item in a week…"

"What item?" Kido was suddenly curious. It must have been her personality, or something, because she seemed disinterested in Pashonyan until now.

"I got an artist tablet for Ha-chan, since he loves art and the like so much. Using a mouse can wear you down, so I figured this would be a nice change of pace." Pashonyan gave a wide smile.

"B-b-but aren't those freakishly expensive?" Ayano gasped dramatically. It was kind of funny that she was being completely serious, and it took all of his willpower not to laugh.

"Well, Ha-chan gets money off of commissions, and he gets an allowance, so I decided to buy one with his budget~"

"Won't he get mad?" Kido looked at Pashonyan closer.

"A-ah, n-no he doesn't get that mad, so I'm not worried, a-and once he can use the tablet, he can charge more money for his commissions…" Pashonyan didn't meet Kido's eye.

"Why are you nervous? Are you lying?"

"N-no, I was just thinking about something…" Pashonyan turned away and quickly wiped his eyes, turning back. "I must have gotten a stray virus in my eye…"

"That's a thing?" Ayano blinked, incredulous.

"Well, its not common, but its happened to me before. Its like getting sand in your eye, y'know?" Pashonyan glanced at Kido who didn't seem to believe him. He cleared his throat. "Ts- Kido-san, why are you looking at me like that?"

Kido shook her head. "No need to go 'ts' at me, I haven't done anything wrong. And about that…" She gave a sad sigh. "You remind me of someone close to me… Although he was a lot more brash and stupid."

"You never let up on people, do you…" He trailed off, the sentence already being quiet, barely a whisper.

"Hm? Never let up?" Kido tilted her head.

"Hm? Is it odd that I'm saying that?" He covered up his insecurity quickly.

"No, but you really do remind me of that person…" She shook her head and went to dust the blinds.

. . .

Haruka hugged the pillow on the bed, feeling tears fall down his face. 'Shuuya… I should have realized sooner… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry...'

* * *

Golden: arg so much writers block I had to force myself to write this, but once I started on some parts, it flowed along well.

Dat quality in the anime though. I'm wondering if Shaft did it on purpose, because y'know ayano's theory of happiness. they probably just SHAFTED outer science as well, because they could. sigh. I'm wondering how kano and kido didn't die though.

but there was no harutaka (sobs) and no kanokido (sobs harder) and what the heck was with the ending, it was as if marry made the whole thing up (wat). I'm hoping either Jin explains soon, or the manga and light novel clear it up (or maybe even both because why not)

Happy reading~


	4. You Can Lean On Me

Chapter Four: You Can Lean On Me

* * *

Haruka's eyes snapped open as he heard a scream echo throughout the apartment. Pashonyan gave a shriek as well, startled by the sudden commotion. Haruka grabbed his phone and yanked open his door, the screaming still continuing. As he arrived in the hallway, he saw Ayano dash into Kido's room, closing the door quickly. Realizing who it was that was screaming, he walked over to stand next to Kido's closed door, listening to the calming words that Ayano was telling Kido, but it was Kido's response that made him even more confused.

"S-s-shuuya… Please…! Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it! Sh-shuuya!" She broke into complete sobbing, muttering more words under her breath, while Ayano told comforting words to the teen.

Haruka gave a sigh and closed his eyes. "So… She's affected by it worse than I thought…" He looked down at his phone where Pashonyan was silent, giving a guilty face, and Haruka was sure that he would begin crying if he could (he had told him himself that it was impossible to cry, but he was sure that if he felt upset enough he would start doing everything except the actual tear-shedding). "Pa… chan?"

He was silent for a few moments, thinking about something. "Let's… Let's not tell anyone that we were here… ok?"

Haruka was shocked at his mundane tone, despite what was going on. He opened his mouth slightly to ask, but quickly closed it. 'I wonder if it reminds him of his past… He never tells me anything...' He nodded his head. "Ok. I won't ask. If you feel uncomfortable again, just tell me."

Pashonyan looked up at Haruka, sad eyes wide. He gave a small smile. "Thanks…" He looked back at the doorway, and as Haruka walked back to his room, he noticed Pashonyan's lips moving, saying the same thing over and over, but he couldn't hear what it was.

'Sorry… so sorry...'

'Kido… Poor Kido...'

. . .

Shintarou huffed while trying to open the door from outside after his job, causing Kido and Haruka to look up with quizzical looks on their faces. Momo gave a sigh. "I get home from my part time job and this slob is what greets me…" She walked over to the door yanking it open. "Onii-sa~an!"

There was a shriek as a person fell into the doorway, into Momo, while Shintarou collapsed on the ground behind. Momo gave a shriek as well as she pushed the person off of her chest, backing away. "W-what?"

Ayano rushed over to help Shintarou up, while Haruka pulled the other person up, who happened to be a young kid. Kido walked over, not really paying attention to the noise. "Who are you?"

"I'm Hibiya… Shintarou-kun led me here so that I can find a girl…"

"Ahahah, Shintarou's really done it this time, what an idiot! He wants to find a girl? Idk but I think they're all taken!" Pashonyan exploded into laughter.

Haruka gave a sigh as he put his phone into his pocket. "Even though Pa-chan is normally joking, I think he's being serious… Umm, why do you want to find a girl?"

"N-n-not like that, I-I-I'm just looking for Hiyori!" The boy waved his hands around, in a confused pattern, and Haruka blinked a few times.

"Ah, so he meant it as in like 'I'm looking for a dog, as in my dog'." Momo stood up. "Pa-chan isn't really correct though, only Ayano and Marry-chan are taken…"

Kido closed her eyes and turned away, going back into the kitchen, and Momo covered her mouth, embarrased.

"No…" Shintarou spoke quietly. "I think Kido's taken as well…" Ayano closed her eyes and turned her head slightly, and Momo lowered her gaze.

"Ahh, lets help the boy find the Hiyori girl!" Pashonyan spoke up, trying to ease the sudden tension in the room. He started searching through the internet as Haruka lifted his phone out of his pocket. He looked through databases as Hibiya walked closer.

After a few minutes of electronic noises, Momo gave a sigh. "Anything yet?"

"No…" Pashonyan sounded surprised, so Haruka tilted the phone. "What?"

"There… There's no trace of Hiyori anywhere… Anywhere…" His voice trailed off as he looked at the young boy standing to the side.

"Damnit…" Hibiya cursed under his breath. He snapped his head to Shintarou. "I know you don't need to tell me!"

"I didn't say anything…" Shintarou blinked as he noticed the boy's eyes had gone to a shade of red. He looked at Haruka who shrugged. Momo gave a huff.

"Maybe…" Ayano gave a hum. Kido nodded her head as well. She walked over to Hibiya. "What happened to Hiyori-chan?" She leaned down slightly to face him mostly head on. Her voice was tender, as if she was talking to a scared animal.

Hibiya looked down, brows furrowing in concentration. "I remember… Exploring the forest with Hiyori… We found a house that was abandoned… But for some reason, people came in. They were angry." Hibiya looked down. "They… beat us… I thought we were dead. There was no way we could have survived… But when I woke up, Hiyori was gone."

Kido gave a sigh and stood up to her full height. "Well, I think I know what's going on, but how about you, Haruka-san and Shintarou go to the city to find her. She might have been disoriented when she woke up, and walked back to the city."

Hibiya nodded, and Pashonyan gave a cheer from the phone. "Detective work! You should know enough about that, Ha-chan, since you play games like that often."

"Sure, sure." Haruka gave a sigh, turning to the people behind him. "What are you three going to do then?"

Ayano shrugged. "We'll discuss it and call you if we get any ideas…"

Shintarou gave a sigh. "We don't have any eye powers useful for this…"

Ayano gave a hum. "I guess you're right… Then maybe…"

"You can go along Ayano. You can find her easily with your power, right?" Kido tilted her head slightly.

"Ahh, that's right! And coupled with Shintarou's power…"

"No. Not right away anyway. Just if we see her." Shintarou shook his head. "And judging by Hibiya-san's power, which I believe to have something to do with reading minds, we might be able to find her today…"

Hibiya's eyes widened. "Are you serious?! Then lets go!" He rushed out the door, Haruka racing after him, shouting to wait.

Shintarou gave an apologetic look to Momo and Kido before racing out after Ayano.

. . .

Haruka gave a sigh as he watched more people leave the train. "How does one look for a person…? Especially if there's nothing to go off of..."

Pashonyan gave a sigh. "I'm still getting nothing from the internet…" He looked to Ayano expectantly.

Ayano's eyes were still red, and Shintarou tapped her on the shoulder. "You should take a break. You've been using your ability for like five minutes straight."

Ayano blinked her eyes a few times and the red vanished. She wiped her face quickly since a few tears had gathered. "I didn't see her…"

Hibiya gave a long sigh. "But, there's a place I really want to go to… So maybe we can go there, and look for her in a new place." Ayano finished, her voice strangely quiet and sad.

Shintarou breathed in for a few seconds, smelling the air. "Where?"

"Well… Today is… close to when… that happened… anyway, so..." Ayano looked down, and Shintarou looked away, along with Haruka.

Hibiya blinked. "That?"

Shintarou nodded. "I should have known that Kido wouldn't want to go on the day that it happened. Or, the anniversary at least."

Haruka nodded. "That's also the day that you and Momo got your powers, isn't it?"

Pashonyan tilted his head and gave a huff. "That?"

Ayano grabbed the phone and gave a sad smile to both Hibiya and Pashonyan. "Well, the day that someone close died…"

Shintarou gave a sigh. "Also the day that Momo and I got our powers, if you weren't listening to Haruka."

Hibiya gave a sigh. "Someone left you too then, huh…" He closed his eyes. "Let's go there then. Maybe Hiyori thought I was dead when she thought back on the situation…"

"It's a long shot, but its worth going if we can kill two birds with one stone." Shintarou cleared his throat and showed his train ticket, the group getting on the train.

. . .

Ayano hopped off the train, holding onto Shintarou's hand, almost making the song-writer fall flat on his face. Haruka helped Hibiya down the steps, and Ayano turned around, giving a small smile that suited her face quite well. "We're here!"

"Here…" Haruka gave a sigh. He clenched his fists. "She's here too… Isn't she?"

Shintarou and Ayano looked down, while Hibiya continued to give the threesome funny looks. "Well, Ayano-san, aren't you going to use your power?" His voice was urgent, and Haruka concluded that he was a spicy youth with no patience, much like the common crowd.

"In a few seconds, after we work into a better place. It's too crowded, I don't want to have someone walk into me." She turned and headed towards an arch with a few words scrawled on it that Haruka didn't need to read in order to know what they said. "This way, everyone."

Shintarou glanced at Haruka, whose head was still down, and Hibiya quickly followed Ayano.

"Ha-chan… You should get going." Haruka's head snapped up as Shintarou turned to where Ayano had been standing, and he followed after the younger boy into the cemetery.

Ayano, humming a strange tune, led the way as Hibiya anxiously followed behind, while Shintarou and Haruka were taking their time in the back. Haruka gave a yawn, closing his eyes, and he nearly tripped over Hibiya, who had stopped as Ayano had. Her eyes were now red, and she was scanning the area, her head turning slowly. Shintarou gave a yawn, catching it from Haruka, and he stretched.

After a few long minutes of waiting, filled with Hibiya huffing and Pashonyan playing thirty second long advertisement jingles until Shintarou threatened to smash the phone, Ayano turned to the group. She shook her head slowly, eyes closed.

Hibiya gave a sad sigh. He closed his eyes.

"Come to think of it, you two died by beating right? Did she fall next to you?" Pashonyan looked at Hibiya.

"Yea… I think she was next to me…" Hibiya blinked. "Why?"

"Was there a puddle of blood next to you when you woke up?"

Hibiya turned away, thinking deeply. Ayano leaned over to Shintarou and whispered a few things. Haruka looked at Pashonyan. "Why are you asking that?"

Hibiya shook his head. "I… I don't think there was…"

Pashonyan closed his eyes. "I'll have to think about that a bit before I reach a conclusion." He turned to Ayano, with a casually serious face. "So, you can do what you wanted to do earlier."

Ayano nodded, turning in an arc to face a row of graves. "It's this way." Shintarou dipped his head as he followed, Hibiya and Haruka following, walking next to each other. Haruka gave a sigh as he watched Ayano and Shintarou hold hands, and he looked away at the sun, which was about halfway from the peak of the sky and the horizon, feeling a slight breeze ruffle his shirt. Hibiya groaned next to him, muttering something about "Hiyori… train… pictures."

Ayano halted in front of one of the tombstones, kneeling down after walking a bit closer to it. Haruka closed his eyes as Hibiya began to read the name aloud, after going to stand next to Ayano.

"Shuuya… Kano." Haruka looked down, turning his head, and Shintarou patted him on the shoulder.

"Who was Kano-san?" The question was so blunt, and Haruka felt his heart skip a beat.

Ayano gave a sad smile after standing up. "He was the son of my adoptive parents. He was a person who helped me and Seto be happy. He was a great brother… He was a great friend…"

Haruka gave a sigh. "He was also a person I helped in school. A 'kouhai'."

"What kind of person was he?" Still blunt.

"He was kind of a jerk to everyone, and he always flirted with the girls whenever he could." Shintarou gave a sigh while Ayano gave a slight laugh. "He was pretty smart though, I guess…" He shrugged. "I don't even know why he always teased and flirted with everyone when it was pretty obvious that he already had someone in sight."

'Are we talking about love lives right now because I don't really want to get onto those subjects again.' Haruka gave a sigh. "Yea, I guess that was true."

"Who was it, Ha-chan? Do I know 'em?" Pashonyan gave an eager smile, and Haruka heard Hibiya groan.

"Take a shot."

Pashonyan blinked. "Was it…" He paused to give it more thought. "Was it… Kido-san? Since what we heard…?" He added the last part in a breathy whisper so that only Haruka could hear.

Haruka nodded. "According to the other young people,"

Hibiya glared at Haruka. "'Young people...'?"

"As I was saying," Haruka gave a sigh, "According to the people in the same grade, she liked him back."

"Ufufufu, shojo manga route engaged." Pashonyan gave a husky, low voice.

"Pa-chan…" Ayano gave a sigh.

"Well, Kano died one day, and Kido left school afterwards." 'I'll leave out the rest...' Haruka gave a sigh as well, but for a different reason.

"How?" Pashonyan was being serious, suddenly, sensing the sensitivity of the topic.

"He…" Haruka gulped. "He…"

"He jumped off the school building." Shintarou looked at the sky. "I saw the crowd gathered around the building… Around his dead body...

"Oh." Pashonyan was silent, while Hibiya started to gag.

Haruka shook his head, tossing his phone to Hibiya. "Search for Hiyori-chan more. I'm going to… go somewhere for a few minutes." He looked at Ayano and Shintarou, the former bowing her head. "Don't follow me."

Shintarou breathed in, turning back to Kano's grave. He gave a sigh, kneeling down as he said a few words.

Pashonyan watched Haruka's retreading figure. 'Haruka…'

. . .

Haruka looked up at the sky, kneeling in front of another grave, tear streaks on his face, with more tears in his eyes, threatening to spill down further. He gave a muffled sob, only being concealed by his arm which went up just as he realized that he couldn't hold in his cries anymore. He put his hands on his face, sobbing, feeling loneliness grasp his heart again.

"Takane…" He choked out the name. "Takane… I miss you so much…" He gave another sob. "Why did you leave?" He sunk further onto the ground, until his chest was touching the earth.

"Takane… I love you…"

. . .

"So… She's gone. Into the haze."

"I knew it… We can't get her back."

"Another…"

"Well, at least the boy's alive…"

"I guess…"

. . .

"Shuuya… You were such an idiot…"

"I miss you so much…"

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

* * *

Golden: About the two lines about 'sorry so sorry' and 'kido poor kido', guess who said each line. I'll reveal it next chapter~

This chapter ended up so longgggg and I was blank for like the first half, and then once I created feels it was so easy to write. sobs. i can never write anything happy without getting bored.

Crying Haruka. Wonderful. *laughs into the sunset*

I will make Pashonyan cry as well. Don't ask how, since he cant really cry, but I will. I WILL.

Happy reading~


	5. Storm Clouds Usually Stay

Chapter Five: Storm Clouds Usually Stay

* * *

Kido looked up with tired eyes as Haruka set his hot chocolate mug down onto the glass surface of the coffee table, the sound echoing across the apartment. He looked at Kido, the latter not meeting his eyes. The room was empty, devoid of the energetic teens that normally resided there. "Kido. We went to visit their graves."

Kido flinched, hearing Haruka's voice break the delicate and serene silence, and Haruka sighed inwardly. 'She's still so sensitive about it...'

"You haven't even seen them once… Have you?"

Kido looked down, and slowly shook her head after a few long moments, her hair floating around her head.

"Why?" The question was straightforward and simple.

Kido moved her head to look at the side, clearly unnerved about the whole situation, trying to avoid the subject, although she may have just been playing him, trying to use him with his high empathy levels. He would have to watch her. "I… I…" She paused for a few seconds, before looking at him. "I would rather not dwell on the past. We are living in the here and now, and I don't want to disturb the ones that have passed on."

Haruka shook his head. "Now now, Kido, I know that you don't believe that…" His tone was scorning, taking on a new form than the normal Haruka tone.

"How are you suppose to know that?" Kido scoffed at him. "You don't even know me well."

"I know you have nightmares about Kano." Kido jerked to a pause, in the middle of waving her hand. "You scream in the night sometimes, calling out his name. Begging him to stop." Kido glared at Haruka with a look of pure hatred. "Pashonyan also knows about your past, somehow. When we heard you, he said 'Sorry… So sorry.' He knows about how much Kano's death hurt you." Haruka had a slight smirk on his face, although he had no clue why it was there in the first place, he actually felt bad for how much Kido was hurt in her past.

Kido leapt up out of her chair, Haruka's face stinging, a red mark settling itself upon his skin. His hand slowly rose up, touching the mark. "Tsk tsk." He chided. "Kido, I thought Kano and Ayano told you not to be violent."

"Bastard. Go die in hell like the fucker you are." Kido growled, voice low, before she stalked into her room not quite slamming the door, but still making enough noise to matter.

Haruka gave a sigh before taking his phone out. "Are you sure that was the best idea?"

"She has to rant out to somebody…" Pashonyan gave a sigh. "Besides, I know you enjoyed it… You don't like Kido as much as you let on."

"Ahah, you may be right… Although, you never told me that you knew about Kido's past." Haruka tilted his head to look at her doorway.

Pashonyan smiled. "That's a story for another day."

. . .

Haruka watched Momo and the Hibiya person bicker again about how Momo always disappeared or something, and whose presence was nonexistent. He gave a sigh. That Hibiya person was kind of a brat. Hopefully he was better with the Hiyori girl…

"Ha-channnn…" Pashonyan wailed from in the phone. "Seto-san and Marry-chan still aren't back… They're like the only people that can get Kido-san out of her bad mood…"

"Can't we just leave her be? I don't even know why you wanted me to get her angry in the first place…" Haruka spoke, leaving his voice at a near whisper. "Besides, they are actually back they're just in Seto's room doing some cleaning."

"I have my reasons for doing what I did…" Pashonyan grumbled, although in a playful manner, and he migrated to Momo's phone. "OBASAAAAAAN SHUT UPPPPP~"

"I'm not an old lady, stupid computer hack!" Momo shut her phone off. She huffed. "Haruka, keep him in check once in a while! Lazy hikineet…"

Haruka winced. "Ahh, I can't control a whole person…" He sighed as Pashonyan stuck his tongue out at him. Haruka shut his phone off as well, the sound of Pashonyan's wails ringing in his ears. He gave a sigh and stood up. "Momo-chan, where's Ayano?"

"Probably with Kido. What do you need?" Momo looked at him, ignoring Hibiya for the time being. The latter quickly got away.

"I just thought that it would be a good idea to start making lunch."

"Hmm… Maybe we could get Kido in a better mood if she cooked with us." Momo headed out of the living room, opening the door to Kido's room and quickly closing it.

Hibiya and Shintarou sat down on the couch next to Haruka, as he continued to think about why Pashonyan would want him to hurt Kido like that… It was clearly a touchy subject… On that matter, how did the virus know so much about Kido? The internet? It was unlikely.

Shintarou stretched. "I swear, you and Momo argue a lot, even though you've only known each other for what, two days?"

Hibiya growled at the older boy. "I can't help it if she's a bratty, old oba-saan…"

Haruka gave a sigh. "Well, I can't disagree with Hibiya-kun's statement." He gave a chuckle after Shintarou caught his eye. "Well, she has good intentions at least."

Shintarou shook his head. "I feel like I always have to stick up for her…"

"Well, that just shows the bond that people have, yes?" Marry finished another flower crown, putting it on Seto's head while he finished hanging a picture frame on the wall, the pair having migrated from Seto's bedroom to work on the main hallway. Seto gave a chuckle as he felt the weight of the flowers on his hair. "Well, I guess depending on a person's bond, different end results occur."

Haruka gave a smile, but then his face fell. "Kido's dwelling on the past too much…"

Shintaoru tilted his head. "That's quite a hypocritical statement, coming from you." He gave a sigh, looking up at the ceiling. "The two were very, very close… As close as you and Takane."

Haruka winced, hearing her name. "That close huh…" His eyes fell, and he stared at his hands, clasped in his lap. "I kinda feel bad for her, then…"

"'Then'...?" Seto gave a sigh. "I don't think you need a reason to feel bad for anyone, whether they've been through something like that or not." Marry nodded, putting a poster up on the wall under the picture.

"They were su-per close," Momo exclaimed, as she walked out of the hallway to sit next to her brother and Haruka. "You could call it something akin to 'love', although I don't know if the feeling was mutual or not. Kano never said."

Haruka looked at Momo as she moved the couch, sitting next to him. "Love… huh."

Momo gave a grin and elbowed him in the ribs. "I know you had a thing for her too, so that's why they're so akin to you two."

Haruka grit his teeth, but he wasn't that upset. "I know… It still hurts to think about her though… Knowing that she's gone and I never even got to see her face one more time…"

"Well," Marry leaned over the back of the couch. "I'm sure Kido thinks the same way, although her reactions towards the situation are different than a normal reaction."

"Well, a different person, a different end result." Shintarou stood up. "I need to meet my agent. Are you coming Momo?"

Momo huffed, standing up. "It's not like I have a choice, your eyes are too powerful without me." She walked over to the door, Hibiya following, waved, and then shut it behind her.

Haruka leaned back as Seto and Marry took the teens' places on the couch, Marry making another of her fake flowers. Seto glanced at Haruka. "So… These past few years have been hard…?"

"I'd say it's been harder for you, considering what happened to you." Haruka stood up, reaching for his phone. "Oi, Pa-chan, I thought I turned the phone off." Haruka glanced at the virus, who had wide eyes, staring into the distance. Haruka blinked. "Pa-chan…?"

"Ah… Ha-chan… Yea… I turned on the phone…"

Haruka gave a sigh, holding the phone at a weird angle. "You've been acting really strange ever since I've been staying here…" His face fell. "You know, you can always talk to us…"

Pashonyan shot a sideways glance at Seto, who was actually paying attention, Marry too focused in her work. "No… No, I don't think I can…"

* * *

Golden: The despair will be starting up soooon, and Marry's role will be getting bigger. Haruka's pov will be ending around chapter 7, and Momo's pov will be next~ Her story is actually pretty sad ahahah, and then after that might be Seto or Ayano.

If you couldn't tell, Pashonyan said 'Sorry, so sorry' and Haruka said 'Poor Kido' because he knows what she's going through.

Happy reading~


	6. Crazing Dazing

Chapter Six: Crazing Dazing

* * *

Haruka gave a sigh as he sat on the couch next to Marry, the cushions moving slightly, while Pashonyan was busy talking to Momo for some reason or another. She had seemed quite adamant about it, but Haruka didn't mind, it could give him some free time to talk to other people without hearing complaining about what he said. He turned to Marry, who was making another fake flower. "So… You met Seto-san… In the forest?"

Marry gave a nod, still looking at the flower. "I was living alone for a long time, so when he came, I was nervous, but he brought me here… Or after the house burned down, anyway." She kicked her feet in a happy way, so he assumed that she had no regrets about the past, for the most part. He did, however.

Haruka set his jaw. "Can you not talk about that… please?"

Marry gave a squeak and looked at Haruka with watering eyes. "I'm sorry!"

Haruka gave a small smile. She was pretty cute. "It's ok…" He stretched. "So, how long had you been living alone?"

Marry set the flower down to count on her fingers. "Well, so many summers went by, so maybe… 140 years?"

"I think you mean 14, Marry-chan…" Haruka gave a sigh. There was no way that she was along for 140 years, she would have died.

"No, it was 140, I remember taking down the number of summers on the wall…" Marry looked at the wall in thought, zoning out.

"Um Marry-chan, there's no way you can be over 140." Haruka shook his head. 'Hopefully she hasn't hit her head recently...'

Marry looked down, her cheeks dotted with a slightly blush. "W-well… I'm not… fully human…"

Haruka blinked. "What?"

"My grandmother was a medusae…" Marry looked down, embarrased.

"Oh. Ok." Haruka turned. 'Ok then...' Seto walked into the room, sitting next to Marry. "Ah, Marry, why are you so flushed?"

"I told Haruka-kun…" She gave a sigh.

"Ohhh, I get it." Seto turned to Haruka, smiling. "She's telling the truth."

Haruka blinked. "Is that why she can freeze people, then?"

"We're not sure, but she died at one point, like us…" Seto gave a sigh. "I found her in the forest, alone and scared…"

Haruka gave a hum in acknowledgement. "Her story reminds me of a book Takane was talking about once… At least the words about being a 'monster' alone."

"What book?" Seto tilted his head, interested in the subject.

"It was about a monster who fell in love with a human, and they had a kid, but the husband died or something and the monster left… There were a lot of mentions of loneliness."

Marry blinked. "My mom use to read that story to me. I have a copy of it in my story chest."

"Can you go get it for us, Marry?" Marry nodded as Seto turned back to Haruka. "She's mentioned that story before, but she hasn't ever read it with me."

"Maybe she just didn't feel like reading it." Haruka looked up as Marry came back, handing the book to him. He flipped through the book, reading it in about two minutes, considering it was a picture book. He gave a hum. "This is an interesting book…"

Marry blinked. "It doesn't have the end of the human dying though."

Haruka shrugged. "I don't know if this is abridged or something, but Takane definitely said that the husband died."

Seto grabbed the book. He flipped through it as well. "Hm. That is odd."

"Well, in my past, I never knew my dad, and my mom left when I was 40…"

Haruka blinked. "Oh…" He leaned back. "What about your grandmother? You said that she was a medusae, so it could be her."

Seto nodded, while Marry closed her eyes, thinking deeply. "My mom said… something about her leaving when she was young… Her dad eventually died of old age."

"Maybe your grandmother is the monster in the story. It kinda makes sense, ya'know. I mean, if we can learn something about our powers, then it's worth a shot. Since there are mentions of the snake abilities." Marry blinked, having forgotten about most of the specific details. Seto stood up. "I'll get Kido and Ayano. They like figuring out things like this."

Marry gave a shriek as a scream came out from the back room; Momo's scream. Haruka strained his ears, since it sounded like she was speaking, but he couldn't hear clearly. Seto gave a sigh, walking down the hallway, slamming the door open and going into the room.

Marry stood up. "I can go get Kido and Ayano instead then." She leapt off of the couch, going into Kido's room.

Haruka leaned back on the couch, closing his eyes. 'I never thought that I'd meet someone who is suppose to be a myth...' His eyes took on a worried look, as he thought deeper about the book. 'It reminds me of what Takane was talking about a lot… She knew Marry, I think, so Marry must have told her...'

Marry walked out, holding onto Ayano's hand as she, Ayano and Kido sat on the couch. "So…"

"What I'm thinking is, Marry's grandmother is the monster in the story, to make a starting point."

Ayano and Kido nodded, knowing what story he was talking about, having read in in their spare time. "She created the world with a bunch of snakes." They nodded again.

"The snakes' names though." Haruka pointed his finger up. "Concealing eyes...Stealing eyes… Deceiving eyes… Staring eyes… Captivating eyes… Opening eyes… Focusing eyes… Awakening eyes… Clearing eyes… Favoring eyes… Retaining eyes… and Combining eyes." He counted them on his fingers. "Don't some of them sound quite familiar…?"

Marry blinked, while Kido nodded her head. "Some of the names are what our powers are… I have deceiving powers, Ayano has focusing powers, Hibiya can read minds, so maybe… stealing? Momo has concealing, since she conceals herself, Shintarou has the opposite, captivating eyes, Seto has… um… none of them really fit, I guess. Marry would have staring eyes since she stares at people to freeze them." Kido leaned back. "That's all I can really match."

Haruka nodded. "Exactly. We just need to figure out the other ones, and who else has them."

"We all died to get them, so maybe tracking deaths?"

Ayano shook her head. "The story says 'All who died August 15' for the command."

Marry's eyes widened. "Like… Like Takane and Kano!"

"Then… Why aren't they here alive?" Haruka leaned forward.

Kido closed her eyes. "Maybe… Maybe they can't get out…" She shook her head. "There's no way that we can get them, then…"

Marry pursed her lips. "But if we can get Kano and Takane back…!"

Haruka grit his teeth. "They can be saved… I know it… There has to be a way to get them out of the so called 'daze', or at least that's what the book calls it..."

Kido stood up. "Let's all go over the information, and come up with separate plans. I'll fill Shintarou in once he comes back. Ayano, you tell Momo and Seto. Pashonyan can look up stuff online about the powers." She walked over to her room, shutting the door.

Ayano gave a sigh. "Momo and Pashonyan seemed to be in a deep conversation… I'll tell them after they finish." She stood up, while Haruka still had a stunned look on his face. She held her hand out, giving a smile. "Let's go visit their graves. Maybe they can hear us… from that daze place."

Haruka blinked as Marry stood up, giving a smile. "That's a good idea! I haven't gone in a while!" She went to her room to grab a few things, while Haruka grabbed Ayano's hand, standing up. "I hope they can actually hear us."

"Maybe they do, maybe they don't, but it's worth a try." She gave a smile, thinking about something else, Haruka assumed. "You've been fitting in here well, haven't you?"

Haruka shrugged nonchalantly, rather bored, or trying to appear so. "It's almost been a month, hasn't it?"

"About three and a half weeks." She looked down, realizing something, her eyes growing wide. "Oh, it's almost August 15th!"

Haruka narrowed his eyes. "Hm…" Marry came into the room, holding a few fake flowers, grabbing the key on the hook next to the door. She waved to the pair, while they followed out the door.

. . .

Haruka was kneeling next to Takane's grave, and Marry placed a flower on it. He gave a sigh as he felt more tears fall down his face. "Don't worry, Takane… I'll save you… You and Kano won't have to be stuck anymore…"

Ayano took a deep breath. "It's Kano's turn now." Haruka stood up and nodded, as they worked their way over to Kano's grave. Haruka gave another sad sigh as Ayano kneeled down and Marry put a flower on it again.

Haruka balled his fists. 'I swear… I will get you two out… No matter what! No matter what the cost!'

* * *

Golden: This one seems shorter than the others, but I finally covered a major plot point, so yay~

There is one question about this that I will answer next chapter, or the chapter after. Just in case there are people who haven't guessed some things yet about the plot in general.

One more chapter planned for Haruka's story, but it might be longer if I think of something more~

Happy reading~


	7. Only a Window

Chapter Seven: Only a Window

* * *

Haruka glanced at his computer screen as he scrolled through old documents that he had turned in when he went to school two years ago, or maybe more. He gave a sigh as he closed them out, going through his old emails instead, not really paying attention, and instead letting his mind wander and mull over the discussions previously in the day.

_"So… Kano and Takane are in the daze?" Haruka closed his eyes. "What should we do to save them? It's not exactly easy, any way you slice it."_

_Marry wiped her eyes with the edge of her dress. "There has to be another way… A way without hurt, you know?" She looked down again._

_Seto placed his hand on Marry's, comforting the younger girl. "I won't let anyone get hurt, ok?" He gave her a soft smile, eyes closed._

_Ayano glanced out the window, looking at the birds sitting in the trees. "The only way to go into the daze is die… And the only way to get the monster is to… combine the snakes, right, Tsubomi-chan?" She looked to the side._

_Kido nodded, looking down at the coffee table. "It's in your parents' notebooks. I noticed them while going through the boxes with the 'daze' label." Kido, watching the stares of the other occupants, gave a shrug. "I was thinking that we might find something useful, or something to give us a key, either metaphorically or literally."_

_"Was there one?" Shintarou looked at the younger girl._

_Kido shook her head. "None that I could see, other than either having someone die on the fifteenth, which is in a day or two, or have every snake combine to create the monster, effectively killing all who have the powers."_

_"Both options are bleak…" Haruka sighed. "There doesn't seem to be anything we can do about it, then…"_

_"But saving both Shuuya and Takane-san…" Kido gave a sigh. "They were both… amazing… they don't deserve… to be alone…" She looked down, a slight frown appearing on her face._

_"If they have each other, then they aren't alone. They're close siblings after all." Marry blinked slowly while Seto nodded._

_Haruka leaned back. "Maybe they can see us from where they are… Somehow..."_

_Kido turned, breaking the subject apart. "Where did Momo go? I haven't seen her all day?"_

_"Pa-chan hasn't been here either." Haruka stood up, not really caring where the virus went since he was his own person, and Haruka wasn't exactly his parent. "I"ll go home and look through old emails to see if Takane gave any hints or something to a solution. Kano-san was her dad after all, maybe he let something slip one day."_

_Kido stood up as well. "I'll go look through emails that Shuuya sent."_

_Haruka nodded. "Best of luck. And Shintarou, you should fill Momo in when you see her again."_

Haruka took a deep breath. "Where is Pa-chan anyway? I didn't know that he was interested in Momo-chan at all…" He stretched and walked over to his window, looking at the setting sun. He gave a sigh as he let his eyes fall down, feeling sadness grip his heart again, remembering more old memories.

_"Look at the sunset, Haruka… Isn't it a kind of sunset that you'd like to draw?"_

_"Ahah, I've already drawn one that looks like that. I can bring it tomorrow if you want."_

_"No, you don't have to."_

_"Ahh, I'll do it anyway, for you."_

_"I-idiot!"_

_"Ahaha, you get flustered easily, Takane."_

_"W-what are you talking about?! Shut up!"_

He gave a slight smile, sitting down on his bed, opening up his old sketchbook, turning to the page with the sunset. Instead of just a sunset, however, there was also a person in the picture, their back turned away from the viewer. There was a flower in the person's hand as well.

He quickly closed the sketchbook, setting it back down onto his dresser, turning his lamp off, only having it on for ease of seeing the picture. He leaned onto his bed, turning over and quickly falling asleep, the comfort of the fluffy bed lulling him into a deep sleep.

. . .

Marry looked through Haruka's sketchbook, glancing over a few of the pictures for a few minutes at a time, not looking at just one for too long. "So, Takane requested… these pictures?" She pointed to three of the pictures that Haruka had ripped out.

He nodded, fingering them. "They're pretty abstract to a point, so I was wondering if we would be able to get any hints or something from symbolism." As Kido blinked a few times, tilting her head, Haruka shrugged. "Just a thought."

Kido picked up one of the pictures and looked at a few of the details. "They don't seem to be especially symbolic of the daze or anything related to that subject… If anything, she was just saying inner feelings of a specific subject." She pointed to a picture on the table with a lot of roses in it. "A red rose symbolizes romantic feelings, and a yellow rose symbolizes friendship." She pointed to each of the roses in turn, being the only fully colored picture out of the three. "It could mean being in love with a friend." She leaned back. "Or should I say it _does_ mean being in love with a friend."

Haruka blinked. "What do you mean by _does?_"

Ayano gave a sigh, putting her head in her hands. "I was always surprised at how thick you are, Haruka… Still am..."

Haruka gave an annoyed sigh. "Wha-at?"

Seto closed his eyes while Marry picked up another picture. "Well, Takane would never admit it, but she really liked you. A lot." He turned his head to look out the window.

Haruka felt his face grow a bit hot, and he turned away. "Oh."

Shintarou gave a sigh, shaking his head while Ayano gave a smile. "We know that you both liked each other. A lot."

Ayano let her smile fall slightly after listening to Shintarou's words. "That's why you fell so hard after… she died."

Haruka closed his eyes. "I know… Even… even if I could never be with her like that… I was happy even if we were only friends…"

Marry set the picture down. "Well, we can get her back. And we can also get Kano back for Kido, right?"

Kido let her hair fall into her face, effectively covering it. "We'll get Kano b-back for everyone, n-not just me…"

Seto gave a smile. "Yep."

Haruka glanced at the calendar. "It's the fifteenth anyway… What are we going to do?"

"We're going to find Shuuya's dad and talk to him. Or rather," Kido took a deep breath, "we're going to talk to the snake. I was able to track him down. He's in Kokonose's old school."

Haruka blinked. "My school? How on earth was it able to go there?"

"It used all kinds of Kenjirou's ties to fulfill its needs." Kido shook her head. "It was able to make a whole lab to test on people… Mainly Shintarou and Momo, after he killed them."

Shintarou was silent, along with Seto and Marry.

Haruka stood up, disrupting the short time of peace, or stunned silence. "I'm going to tell my parents where I'm going. Shintarou, have you seen Momo?"

"She's been in her room with Pashonyan all day." He gave a shrug. "I'll let them know what we're doing." He stood up as well. "I'll let her know about… the tests as well…"

Ayano closed her eyes. "Best of luck to us all."

. . .

Haruka stared at his computer screen longer, watching the coding scroll through the pc. He gave a sigh and looked out the window again. He stood up, opening his door slightly. "I'm going out my window, so I'll be gone for the night. My friends have a thing."

"Why are you going out the window?"

"I just felt like being a kid again, since the thing I built is still there."

"Ok. Be safe."

Haruka shut his door, locking it quickly. He grabbed a pair of scissors that were sitting on his desk.

_"Haruka, here, you can have these scissors."_

_"Woah, they look good! Did you do the design yourself?"_

_"Yea. I was bored in art class, so I did it on my old scissors."_

_"I'll use them!"_

He gripped the handles as he sat on his bed, looking at the clock.

August 15

19:46

He closed his eyes.

_"Hey Haruka… Have you ever… thought that… your life had something deeper… Something you didn't know about clearly?"_

_"Hmm… I guess the thought has crossed my mind a few times… Although not in the exact way that you used your syntax."_

_"Well excuse my poor grammar…"_

_"Ahh, I didn't mean it like that!"_

_"It's ok. Just forget it."_

_"Are you sure? Do you feel upset at all?"_

_"No, I'm fine."_

_"Are you sure?"_

_"Ye~es Haruka, I'm fineee…"_

_"Ok then."_

Haruka felt a tear fall down his face. 'If only I had known more… If only I had figured it out...'

'No… I'm going to get Takane and Kano… I'm going to save them. Even if it means I can't get out, I'll save them.'

He took a deep breath and rammed the point into his throat.

. . .

"No… no way… You… you're… Shuu-kun?!"

"Ahh… Momo-chan… I thought I told you not to use honorifics…"

* * *

Golden: I was at a friends house with no computer, so this is late but whatever

It escalated quickly uvu. And with that, that is the end of Haruka's arc~ Happy

To Mossfang, Pashonyan's character design is in chapter one, except two things that aren't mentioned; his hair is almost black and his pants are dark jeans. If anyone else wants to do fanart or fanfiction, go right ahead, just credit me, you don't need to ask.

To Dead Honsety, no that isn't quite what pashonyan looks like, he doesn't just have an Ene design recolor, and he doesn't have headphones either.

To all other reviewers, thank you~ Your input is much appreciated!

Happy reading~


	8. The Kind of People We Use to Be

Chapter Eight: The Kind of People We Use to Be

* * *

"Ahh, Momo, I'm sorry, but I guess I can't go to school again today… Can you get my stuff from Ayano again?" Shintarou looked up from his bed as she stood up from the chair.

Momo gave a light laugh, putting her schoolbag on her shoulder. "It's no big deal. Since you're missing school again, you can finish the homework that was due last week." Momo gave a smirk while Shintarou gave a sigh.

"You know I was gone most of last week, that's why I never finished…" He gave a pout, crossing his arms.

Momo laughed again. "I'll tell Ayano to come over and help you study. Hopefully Takane doesn't get mad again, huh?" She walked out of his bedroom, shutting the door lightly behind her.

"Ahh, Momo, here's your lunch." Her dad handed her a box, and Momo dipped her head. "Do any of your friends need food?"

Momo gave a laugh. "Aww, you care about them like your own children." She shook her head. "They don't, they all have good families. And besides, Tsubomi-chan can cook well, so we always get stuff after cooking class." She gave a yawn before stuffing some food in her mouth. "I'm off!"

Her mom waved from the living room. "Have a nice day, honey!"

"Yea!" Momo opened the door and started off at a jog to school in the slight heat.

. . .

Momo gave a sigh as Shuuya poked Kousuke in the back again as the teacher finished his lecture, letting the students do their classwork. She huffed, poking him in the back. "Pay attention more often, Shuu-kun! You always slack off and it shows in your grades!"

"Aw, Momo-chan, I'm still passing, it's all good!" Shuuya gave a sly smile, turning back to Kousuke, the latter having turned around with a look of both guilt and annoyance on his face.

Momo gave a sigh and turned to Tsubomi, who was on her right. She gave a shrug. "He was like this last year too…"

Momo gave a sigh, leaning back. "I thought eighth grade would be different, though…" She closed her eyes, stretching.

"What did you expect? Shuuya is Shuuya, and Kousuke is Kousuke." Tsubomi twirled her pencil as she finished another math question, leaving the latter to huff and start on hers.

Momo gave a sigh as she finished the questions in a nice amount of time, watching Shuuya keep on moving in front of her, and Kousuke in front of him actually do his work. She gave a sigh as the teacher waved his hand, signaling that the students could talk for the rest of the class.

Kousuke turned to face Shuuya, annoyance on his face. "I could barely finish, you were tapping my shoulder so much!"

Shuuya gave a laugh, while Momo and Tsubomi gave a sigh. "Well, what's the fun of school when all you do is work the whole time?"

"Shouldn't it be you working the hardest out of us?" Momo gave a huff.

A girl in their class leaned over. "Yea, didn't you skip a grade, Shuuya-kun?"

Shuuya adopted a smug look, putting his hand on his chin. "Hmmm… Now that you say something about it, I might have." He winked at the girl. "Thank you for so graciously reminding me. I don't know what I could have done without you."

Kousuke and Momo gave heavy sighs while Tsubomi turned away. The girl had a slight blush appearing on her face, and she turned away to talk with her friends. Shuuya gave a light chuckle as Kousuke shook his head. "If you keep on doing that, you aren't going to get a good reputation in high school…"

Shuuya waved his hand. "Ahh, Kousuke, it's all ok, ok. Besides, it's fun, learning about what people like hearing."

"You mean what they like hearing from you, and you use it frequently to be more popular." Tsubomi gave a huff. "You shouldn't use people for your own selfish ends."

"M-m, Tsu-bo-mi-chan," Shuuya waved his finger for each syllable, "Don't be such a sour-puss, you'll get your turn, don't worry~"

Momo noticed a faint blush come upon the girl's cheeks, and Tsubomi roughly turned away. Momo sighed. "Don't do that, Shuu-kun, you know how she-"

"Ahh, lunch will start soon, won't it?" Kousuke suddenly broke in with a worried tone, and Momo stopped talking, annoyed, her mood gone bad.

Shuuya nodded. "Takane was in charge of the Bento this morning, wasn't she?"

Kousuke blinked. "I thought it was Ayano…"

Momo shrugged. "Maybe it was both. Figures that Shuu-kun wouldn't remember, he focuses on too many girls to remember stuff like that." She glared at the subject, who averted his gaze.

Tsubomi gave a sigh and stood up as the bell rang. "Do you wanna go to the roof, Momo-chan? It's a nice day, with a light breeze."

Momo nodded in earnest. "I made a nice dessert for you today as well. Onii-san found the recipe online, and he said that it might work well, and it did!" She gave a smile. "He says my cooking has improved as well, although he seemed guilty about it." She ended her sentence with a sad face.

"Well, he can't help it if his genetics are bad. If anything, it's your parents' fault. Although, things like that are purely random. He's fine though, hm?" Tsubomi stood up, taking her binder to her locker, along with Momo. Momo set her stuff inside her locker as Tsubomi stood next to her, after the latter was done doing her stuff.

. . .

Momo finished her sandwich as she listened to Tsubomi rant on about Shuuya, Kousuke, Shuuya, Kousuke but mostly Shuuya. Which wasn't at all abnormal; Momo found herself ranting on about Shuuya quite often, and, (although she would never, ever, admit) it was probably for the same reason.

Tsubomi huffed as she stuffed her salad into her mouth. Momo took this as her cue to begin speaking. "Well, if you think it's ok, then Kousuke should be able to do stuff like that, but Shuu-kun's behavior needs to be checked more often."

Tsubomi shook her head, swallowing her salad. "That's the thing, it's not my place to judge either, but seriously! I feel like their mom!"

She closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them. "Why do you have a pet name for Shuuya anyway? It's kinda degrading…"

Momo felt her face get a bit red. "Well, I didn't want to leave off the honorifics, but I didn't want to be too formal either…" She slowly looked away at the city.

She sighed. "It's like Kousuke and his keigo issue…"

"Well, I think his –suu's are cute!" Momo smiled. "It was Takane who did that anyway, although it was an accident." She gave a sigh, relieved that the subject had changed.

"I think I influenced it slightly as well…" She gave another sigh. "Since I went over to talk to Ayano, and both Takane and I got on his back about the keigo…"

"Well, it's a nice personality quirk, and one that isn't bad at all, so…" Momo looked up at the clouds, staring at the flocks of birds miles above.

Kido glanced to the side. "How… How's the bullying? Did it go down?"

Momo closed her eyes. "With Shuu-kun's help, it's gone down a bit, but there are still people who stare…" She let her eyes fall down to her body, sighing. "It's indecent."

"Well…" Kido trailed off, unable to find a thing to say that would be appropriate. She shook her head. "How about the cake you were talking about? Can I have a taste?"

Momo nodded, glad to be able to tear herself from the thoughts. "Here's one that I made for you. I have my own."

. . .

Momo leaned back in her chair as the teacher explained another assignment. She opened her notebook, doodling something small before her lead snapped, and she heard Shuuya muffle a snicker. She gave a sigh but ignored him for the time being.

After the bell rang, she and Tsubomi headed to the art club while Kousuke and Shuuya went to some pe club. Momo had just barely opened the door before her phone got a notification. It was Ayano, and she and Tsubomi were rather confused, until she opened the message and read it aloud.

Tsubomi gave a gasp as Momo's face paled.

"Onii-san!" Momo grabbed her bags and ran out.

* * *

Golden: and with a flash, Momo's arc starts, yay~ This one will have more despair in it than Haruka's arc hahah why cant i write anything happy

Happy reading~


	9. Of Sickness and Blood

Chapter Nine: Of Sickness and Blood

* * *

Momo ran into the white hospital room, Tsubomi following close behind, along with Kousuke who had been worried as well after seeing the two girls quickly hightail it out of the school building. The blond haired girl quickly ran to her mother to get an account of the situation. Tsubomi turned her head to look at the older boy, asleep in a hospital bed, wires and tubes hooked up to him. It was scary to have a life depending on something like that.

Momo, after her mom was done talking, quickly went to stand next to Ayano, who was in turn next to her brother, and she felt his forehead. "He has another fever…"

Ayano gave a sad sigh. "He collapsed when I was teaching him more about the lesson… It was…" She shook her head, and Momo couldn't blame her for not wanting to continue. It was scary seeing Shintarou like this, again. She closed her eyes. Why did this have to happen to her brother? Why was he always sick? Why was he unable to live a normal, happy life, and to be a person? She shook her head, trying to reword the last thought. Words were never really her strong point.

Haruka and Takane, the two people that sometimes helped Shintarou and Ayano, came in as well, Shuuya following his older sister. Ayano ran up to Takane to hug her, crying. "It happened again, Takane! He got really sick again!" She gripped onto the older girl's clothes, and Momo had a fleeting thought about being glad that she didn't turn to her.

Shuuya went to hug her, patting her on the back, trying to soothe her. "It's ok, Aya-nee, he'll wake up soon. He always does, you know, and this time is no different from the others."

Momo closed her eyes and gave a sigh. When Shuuya was actually thinking about others, he was really quite nice. Usually. Kousuke went over to join the group hug, sobbing as usual. Kousuke was rather fragile when it came to things like that. Haruka also went to go hug Takane, since he probably didn't want to hug Kousuke or Ayano; it would be rather strange to be hugged by someone you didn't know that well, or other issues.

Momo also ran over to hug them, to comfort them. "It's ok Ayano. I've seen him get sick many times, but each time he comes back, even more confident than the last. I know he'll come back and be begging to learn whatever schoolwork he missed out on. Don't worry, everything will be ok." She pulled back slightly, giving a smile. 'It will be ok… I know it.'

Haruka nodded as well. "I've seen him do stuff like that as well. It's ok Ayano-chan." He gave one of his calming smiles that Takane often talked about, always denying that she did so.

Takane gave a sigh, hugging Ayano back. "Everything will be ok." She turned to Momo and nodded at her as well, and Momo dipped her head.

Tsubomi gave a sigh, and Momo turned to face her. "I hope that he'll be ok…" She closed her eyes, really looking as if she was depressed.

Shuuya nodded, giving a friendly slap on her back after letting go from the group hug, the latter quickly opening her eyes, startled. "He'll be fine! He's Momo-chan's brother after all~"

Momo blushed and turned away. "Wouldn't it be more appropriate to say that I'm his sister?"

He shrugged dramatically. Tsubomi exhaled, narrowing her eyes slightly against the sun as Momo's mom opened the curtains, looking at the sky. "I think it would be best if you all went home."

"Mrs. Kisaragi, Momo-chan can come to my house for a little bit." Tsubomi walked up to her. "I can see that this is rather stressful, and she can have dinner with us if need be."

She gave a sigh. "That is a gracious offer, but make sure to ask your parents."

She took out her phone and began to text as Haruka and Takane waved, going to their afternoon job. Ayano followed, unable to do anything except give occasional sniffles.

Kousuke sniffed a little bit as well after seeing his sister cry. "Shuuya, do you think he'll be ok?" He wiped his face with this forearm while the questioned gave a shrug.

"I think he'll be fine. There isn't any reason to believe otherwise." He walked out with Kousuke, going home, the will to do after school activities gone.

Tsubomi turned to face Mrs. Kisaragi. "My parents say that it's fine." She turned to Momo, who had a relieved look on her face.

"Well, I guess I'll have to thank your parents later, won't I?" She turned to Momo. "Do you have your stuff?"

"It's all at school, I came here in a rush…" Momo looked to the ground, holding her arms.

"Go get it then, and call me when you get to her house." She nodded, and the girls ran out to go to the school.

. . .

Momo waved as Tsubomi waved back, shutting the door behind her. She turned her head down as she started to text her mom, eventually looking back up at the rising moon. She gave a sigh, heading for home, her backpack slightly weighing her down.

"Why does this always happen to onii-san? What did he ever do to deserve this…?" Momo felt tears come to her eyes and she quickly wiped them away so that when she got home, her parents wouldn't see her red eyes. Having to explain why her eyes were red was always embarrassing, and Shintarou would tease her afterwards.

Except he wouldn't exactly be able to do it this time, she remembered with sadness.

"At least I can go visit him tomorrow after school and give him his missing work… again…" She gave a forlorn sigh. "I bet, even though he has a happy front, he's actually really upset about not being able to go to school often…"

"Yea, I bet that's the truth, I can't imagine him not being upset…" She trailed off, realizing that talking to herself was rather weird, and even though it was night, she didn't want anyone thinking that she was crazy or anything. That would be embarrassing.

She hurried her pace to get home and get to bed so that the next day would come quickly.

. . .

Momo looked across the quiet classroom as the students continued with their work, no longer quite as stressed about Shintarou's sickness since the fever broke three days ago after five days of having it. It was something that she would often grumble about, but everyone was relieved. She turned to Tsubomi. "It's so quiet without Shuu-kun and Kousuke… What happened?"

Tsubomi shrugged. "Shuuya didn't text me, and neither did Kousuke or Takane. Ayano wasn't at school either, from what Haruka-senpai told me after he asked where Takane and Ayano were." She finished her work. "We can go visit their house after school ends, and then go visit your brother."

Momo nodded. "That sounds like a good idea."

. . .

Tsubomi jerked back as the door quickly opened right as she was about to knock again, causing Momo to give a startled shriek. "Ahhh!"

Takane's bleary eyes appeared from behind the door. She quickly blinked, trying to get rid of the tiredness. Her hair was out of the normal pigtails, and it was also messy, which was unusual. "Oh, Tsubomi, Momo-chan… I didn't realize that it was you…"

"Why weren't you all at school? Did something happen?" Momo looked to the side as Shuuya and Kousuke appeared as well, Kousuke and Shuuya also looking unkempt.

She watched as Shuuya clenched his jaw and Kousuke began to cry again. Takane shook her head sadly. "Our parents… were caught in a school shooting…"

The two girls gasped. "No…!" Momo muttered in shock.

"Our mom was killed…"

Momo's eyes widened.

"No… no way…!"

* * *

Golden: Uaaaa this took wayyy too long, both because of school and other things, and because I had absolutely no idea what the plot for this chapter would be, but I have the rest of Momo's arc planned out, and there will be a chapter or two dedicated to Shintarou as well, although a lot of what happens to him will be explained in Momo's arc.

Hibiya doesn't have one though because honesly what would I put? His death and past will be explained though, so don't worry.

Happy reading~


	10. Sharp Taste of Acidity

Chapter Ten: Sharp Taste of Acidity

* * *

Momo gave another sigh as she watched Kousuke's head fall onto his desk again, the boy unable to hold it up anymore, probably out of tiredness from crying so much since he was pretty frail whenever it came to things like that, and Momo couldn't really say that she blamed him. Shuuya was fidgeting with his pencil, and as the strawberry blonde turned her head to gaze at the girl next to her, she watched as her hair settled into a fine position, and she figured that Tsubomi had been looking at Shuuya, and had turned her head away at the last second. She gave a sigh and rested her head on the desk, the heat slowly draining from her ear onto the wood top.

It had been about a month or so since Mrs. Kano had died, Momo figured, and after Mr. Kano had gotten back, things had gone downhill for their family. He was never home AT ALL, and Takane was forced to take the brunt of everything on her shoulders, at least from what Tsubomi had told the girl. Ayano was upset a lot as well, but she was doing ok with school, and she was recovering with Shintarou's help, the latter able to keep the happiness going.

Kousuke and Shuuya were other matters entirely, Momo thought, giving another long, forlorn sigh, thinking about how their friendships had all but deteriorated into a brunt need for stability and emotional support, which Momo didn't think she would be able to supply, and she didn't think Tsubomi would either, even though the both of them were usually pretty good at cheering people up.

Kousuke cried for five minutes at least each day, unable to be comforted in the slightest, although at least it was better than for an hour straight each day. He said something about a girl, but Momo figured that he had made an imaginary friend, or Tsubomi had used her special eye powers to help him out. It wouldn't be the first time that the girl had used her powers to change into someone, usually being Takane or some cute animal, although a girl wouldn't be out of the range of things.

Shuuya acted as if everything was completely normal, too normal would be a way to put it, and he was always laughing and always smiling, but Momo couldn't help but worry about him, since she knew that he felt terrible inside. She felt a twinge of guilt as she figured that only someone like Takane or Tsubomi would be able to pull him out of that slump. She wished that she could be the shining hero that could save them all, but that reality was one of dreams.

She wondered how he really felt about everything that had happened, but whenever she would try to ask him, as of late since she wanted to give him time to recover, he just pushed her away. She had a feeling that their seemingly 'unbreakable' friendship was being put through an unbeatable test.

At one time, she could talk to any of the three and have a good time, but now she was playing the role of 'leader and protector' and she didn't know if success would be a result.

_I can only hope…_ She gave a sigh, finishing her work, waiting for the dreary day to end.

. . .

Momo hitched up her backpack strap as it continued to slip off of her shoulder as she headed up to the roof after the club bell had rang its final toll, the sun beating onto her side from the glass windows on the side of the hall. Tsubomi hadn't shown up for club, and Kousuke had gone home early, again, and who knew where the heck the blond had gone, so she entertained herself before heading up to get some fresh air. It had now been about three months, she figured, and Shuuya hadn't recovered at all, and now Tsubomi was starting to get weird…

As she arrived at the open doorway, she heard a few voices, so peeking her head out slightly, she gazed out, noticing the figures of Tsubomi and Shuuya standing near the edge of the railing, the male leaning on it, their hair blowing slightly in the wind, with their figures illuminated by the sunset. She quickly ducked back into the doorway, leaning on the wall, a slight feeling of jealousy tugging at her stomach, but she tried to ignore it, instead turning her attention to what the voices were saying.

"I'm only telling you this because I trust you. You understand the severity of the situation, right?"

"Yes. Although, you're still hiding information from me. I want to help you. I don't want to see you hurt like this."

"It's above your head, Tsubomi. It's above all of us."

"Just… don't do anything stupid, ok? It's rough now, but I'm here. Takane-senapi's here. Kousuke and Momo-chan are here."

"Haha, I'm not going to do anything without letting you know, I told you~"

"Stop using that voice!" Momo heard a huff come out of Tsubomi's mouth, and it was silent for a few moments.

She closed her eyes and headed back down to the main building, feeling guilt weigh in her stomach.

_I shouldn't be so selfish… They obviously like each other, and something else might be going on with Takane…_ She quickly wiped some tears that had appeared in her eyes, and she gave a huff. "I shouldn't be so upset about this…"

"Are you jealous?" Momo stopped short as she heard a cold voice emanate from the darker end of the stairwell, and she felt a sharp spike of fear rise in her heart. She didn't know the voice at all, but for some unknown reason, it struck a key of familiarity that she couldn't place, and it made her teeth set on edge.

_I'm only thirteen I can't die I have a life to live-_

"Maybe someday I can help you…" She waited a few seconds, listening for the husky, airy voice before taking a few steps forward, reassuring herself that she had just been hearing things, even though her sanity was shouting at her to not let her guard down.

"Ahh, Momo-chan!" She heard Ayano's yell from the bottom of the stairs, so she broke out into a run to meet the older girl. The brunette gave a smile, closing her eyes as the sunlight illuminated her figure.

"Shintarou thought that you'd be here! Come on, he wanted to cook with us, remember?"

Momo quickly wiped away the tear stains on her face and gave a smile, grabbing onto her hand. "Yep~ Can't forget that now, can I?" She looked to the side for a few seconds. _I want to help them… but what can someone like me do?_

. . .

"So… that's how it is huh…? Who else have you told?"

"Just her and you. I only trust you two to keep this secret closed."

"You two are just kids… You shouldn't be worrying about things like this."

"You have to shoulder the whole house though, so we can take care of a few things."

"Just don't do anything stupid ok? It seems to be laying low, so lets just let things go as they may. You still need to finish middle school. One and a half more years anyway."

"You'll be done next year, won't you? Or something like that."

"Well, my grades aren't the best…"

"It's nice to worry about things like that, isn't it?"

"Yea… being a kid."

"Well, I guess it's time for bed."

* * *

Golden: wow this is filler haha next one will be more interesting.

Some bad news for shintarou fans, I'll be taking out his role in Momo's arc, but he will have a chapter or two for his view, don't worry. Some more important character arcs like Takane, Kido and Kano might be more than 7 chapters, but we'll see.

Happy reading~

P.S. I'm not a fan of fics with ocs, mostly because the ocs are really bland, but I'll be writing my own to see how it turns out. I won't be shipping them with any characters though, so stay tuned~


	11. Falling, Falling December Snow

Chapter Eleven: Falling, Falling December Snow

* * *

Momo stole another glance out the window as Kousuke gave another sigh as he tried to break up an argument between Tsubomi and Shuuya, the latter turning away, a hurt look appearing on his face despite well known efforts to lie flawlessly. Tsubomi was looking rather monotone, but Momo knew that she had an ability to show others what she wanted them to see, so she never could really tell if it was a real emotion or a faked one.

"They've been at odds for the past few months now…" Kousuke's voice was hurt as he sat next to the girl, shaking his head. "It's already November and they still haven't made up…"

Momo had to agree with him. Ever since she could stop worrying about her brother, about two months ago, tensions between the group had risen to an all-time high. She and Tsubomi were often glaring at each other for unknown reasons, even to Momo, but she felt guilty that their seemingly perfect friendship had broken. She and Shuuya were always talking about pointless things and dancing around every subject, so she supposed that was an even worse relationship than the one with her friend.

Tsubomi and Shuuya… They acted completely different around each other; often getting into fights or ignoring each other, but Momo knew better than that. She heard the two crying when they thought no one could hear and see them.

She only wished that they could confide in her, like in the old days.

Kousuke was having difficulties as well, especially since he found a girl called 'Marry' in the forest. His ability, being able to change his body at will, literally, had gotten more under control, which was especially good since after his mom died it seemed to go completely out of whack. She heard that Takane had helped him in the past, but the older girl was now so busy…

She gave a sigh, shaking her head again as she watched the rain fall down the window. "I wish we could go back to the past…"

"I suppose this is what 'growing up' is then, huh?" Kousuke set his head on his hand, staring dully at the board. "The clubs have also gotten boring too, haven't you noticed?"

"Maybe it's because we're focusing on important things instead of the insipid topics." Another sassy quip from Tsubomi that caused Momo's hands to twitch at the thought. She felt heat flow through her body, but knowing that it would amount to naught, she kept her mouth shut tight.

Kousuke gave a sigh, and Shuuya looked away again, gazing at the doorway. "It's not like we have anything better to do…"

"We could help Nee-chan… She has to go to high school after all, and she and Aya-nee can't take care of us alone…"

"At least Haruka-senpai is helping as well…" Momo looked back at the group as the bell rang again, and students poured into the room from outside a few moments later. Lunch was over.

. . .

Shintarou gave a sigh as he flicked the reading lamp on. "So, you and Shuuya-kun and Tsubomi-san are arguing now? What caused that? And, why are you only telling me now? It's been on for a few months, right? Ever since Kano-san died?"

Momo's hands were clasped in her lap as she worriedly glanced to the side. "W-well, you were sick and all, and I didn't want to worry you…"

"I already knew, since Ayano told me. I've been trying to help her get money through some math contests, but I don't know if it will help… She can't do anything either since she's not that good at school or art… But I kind of wanted you to confide in me..."

"Maybe… Maybe there's some reason for all of it happening…" Momo gave a shrug as her brother looked at her quizzically. Backtracking to make it seem like she had a good point, she added "I mean, everything happens for a reason, right?"

"I suppose that's true." He gave a sigh, turning his head. "You should go to bed before mom yells at you again."

Momo dipped her head, standing up. "I'll see what I can do, as well."

. . .

Momo twirled her pen as she watched Shuuya's eyes flit quickly from the window, to Tsbuomi, to the window again, out the door, and she gave a sigh as she became slightly fed up with his twitchy behavior. "Look at your paper or you won't be able to finish grading it."

"But winter break is almost here and I can't wait~" An obvious lie to Momo, but if she wasn't as close to him as she was, she would have fallen for it easily.

"Whatever, just make sure your grades don't fall." Momo turned back to her paper with a huff, glaring at the red ink as if it would magically make everything better. She narrowed her gaze further, boring into the near failing paper. "I hate this…"

Kousuke turned his body to look at her. "Hate what, Momo?"

Momo started as she realized that he had heard her, and she gave a nervous smile. "Nothing but grades! Mine are slipping after all~"

"Ahh, really?" He turned his head as the bell rang a few minutes later, signaling the end of the day. "Well, I have to go meet Marry. You're coming along, right Tsubomi?"

The girl nodded, grabbing her stuff silently and heading out after the younger boy, sparing only a quick glance at Shuuya, but Momo figured that the look was fake, and she was really looking at him with a worried look. Momo herself would do that anyway. Their footsteps rang in the now-empty halls, slowly fading away.

Shuuya gave a yawn, stretching and leaning back. "A lot has changed lately, huh Momo-chan? First we started 8th grade, then my parents died…" He gave a sad sigh before giving a cry as he focused on reality again, although it sounded fake. "Not that Takane and Aya-nee and Haruka-senpai haven't been bad, but it's different…"

"At least Shintarou got better…" Momo gave a sigh. "I…" She tilted her head, narrowing her eyes out of longing. "I don't understand why you're not telling me anything… You're lying all the time now…"

"Ahah, Momo-chan, what are you talking about, I'm not lying to you at all, I feel fine fine everything is fine after all, nothing to worry about haha except maybe my grades since Haruka-senpai stopped tutoring me since he and Taka-nee seem to want to go out, but I don't know if dad would want that even though he's never around, but Tsubomi's powers are going out of control, and so were Kousuke's but at least that girl has helped and Aya-nee's powers are getting better with Shintarou's help and everything's fine everything's fine." The words tumbled out of his mouth as if a floodgate had opened and even Momo had trouble telling what was the lie and what wasn't.

"Ahh… is that so…?" Her voice came out quiet, unsure.

It killed her inside to act indifferent to the situation, because clearly he needed help, but she _knew_ that she couldn't and she knew that she was useless in a situation like that.

"Ahh, looks like it started to snow." Shuuya acted as if he hadn't said anything to her, and he put his coat on quickly. "I'll walk with you home since Tsubomi and Kousuke abandoned me, and I suppose Aya-nee's at your house too."

Momo gave a brisk nod, grabbing her things as well, wrapping a scarf around her neck. "I suppose she is too." She watched Shuuya's head turn sharply as he heard a silent noise, from his own mind she figured sadly, and she gripped his wrist quickly as his eyes widened and he seemed to take on a persona of a startled deer.

"Shuu-kun. What's wrong?" She gazed into his eyes and her heart hurt while speeding up rapidly, and she noticed a layer of pain and fright hidden under a thin film of reassurance, the surface of his eyes showing the falling snow outside. "You… You've changed so much, and… I really want to help. Please… Please just let me help you!" Her voice took a pleading edge as he turned his head away, giving a defeated sigh, unable to hold the girl's strong glare for much longer.

"I'd tell you, but after all, you're my friend, so I don't want to hurt you. I guess you could say I'm scared, but you'd be too if you knew." He freed his wrist from her iron grip, hitching his coat up further, the collar hiding his ears. "Please. Stop asking. Just stop." His eyes were now focused blankly on the wall, and the girl had to stifle a whine of sadness.

Momo let her eyes fall to the floor as she gave a sad noise that wasn't a whine, narrowing her optics as her gaze settled on a fallen pencil. "Ok… If it's for you… I'll stop…" She grabbed her coat, quickly zipping it shut as the fluff warmed her arms.

"If that's the case, then it would be best if I didn't go over." He was still looking at the chalk board at the front of the room.

Momo nodded, despite knowing that he wouldn't see her. "Yea. I'll go home alone."

. . .

Momo hurried through the quickly descending frost flakes as she rubbed her ears, moving her scarf to cover them further. It wouldn't be good if they froze off after all.

She huffed, watching her frozen breath ascend into the sky as it slowly disappeared into the falling snow, the sky grey.

"I guess my breath disappears just like my happiness does, huh?" She let her eyes fall slightly, narrowing both against the cold and sadness.

"If it's a happiness, I can return it to you, you know."

A familiar voice struck Momo's ears, and she turned her head quickly, her hair whipping around, scattering snow. Her eyes widened out of fear. She took an instinctive step backwards. "Y-you…" Her voice came out quiet as a cat stalking its prey, and she didn't want to hear an answer.

"Hm, you know, I can stop this jealousy that's taken you over. I can fulfill it. I know what you want."

"Where are you? Show yourself!" Her high-pitched voice rung out across the empty area, and she felt a stab of fear at herself, and she internally chided herself for saying such stupid thoughts.

"I don't think I need to. But, you know, I can still help you. I can make you seem appealing, and you can goad others into your clutches. You want them, don't you?"

"W-what?! Want _them? _People aren't possessions!" She felt anger fill her ears, and her heartbeat rang out.

Snow melted slightly on the top of her head. She quickly turned away, squeezing her eyes shut, mouth turning to a frown of displeasure. "Leave me alone! I won't listen to you!"

The voice gave a low chuckle. "Suit yourself, Ghost Girl~" She heard the condensing of snow that signaled feet walking away, and after a few moments she exhaled, relieved. Her face quickly turned to one of worry, as she re-evaluated the mystery person's words.

"What does he want me to do…? Who… Who is _he_?"

"_Ghost Girl…?"_

. . .

Momo flipped through the book pages absentmindedly as she listened to Ayano's farewell, and she reflected on the events that had happened right before, and after, she had left the school.

_It was that same voice… Something is going to happen soon…_

_Praises of 'jealousy' and 'goading' can't be good at all…_ Her head snapped up as Shintarou opened her bedroom door. "Are you done with homework? It's late."

Momo nodded her head, setting the book down, dismissing the thoughts from her mind, even though she knew her brother wasn't a mind reader. "Shuu-kun and Tsubomi-chan are still upset though…"

"Ayano was talking about how Takane-senpai was stressed out as well, but Haruka-senpai seems to be having a good influence." He sat down on her chair, face turning. "Have you found out what was bothering them?"

Momo shook her head, her eyes narrowing out of guilt and sadness. "Shuu-kun told me to stop asking though… Something bad is going on…" _Other than the voice, of course…_

"Hopefully it ends soon…"

"Yea…" Momo gave a sigh.

"Well, goodnight." The sound of a chair scooting back reverberated around her empty room.

"Keep warm, Onii-san."

* * *

Golden: It is heeeereeee and it would have been here yesterday but I had to go to my cousin's football game. weh.

This one turned out to be really nice in my opinion~

And I noticed that, because of my reading speed, sometimes book plots just seem to be really irrational because it seems to take place in like a week, and I'm wondering if my writing seems really slow, since I try to compensate for that speed. Is this the case?

Happy reading~


	12. The Radio has Nothing but Static

Chapter Twelve: The Radio has Nothing but Static

because there is no longer the 'line' option for right here, I will proceed to blow up trying to find another way to edit the html

Momo looked at the front as her math teacher introduced a new teacher aid, who looked to be in his mid-thirties, with light brown hair and glasses, the ninth grade air quivering.

"This is Mr. Tateyama, and he'll be helping me for the next few weeks as an aid. Please refer to him as a 'teacher' please." The teacher gestured to the other adult in the room, giving off an air of superiority.

Momo gave a blink as Kousuke and Shuuya expressed sounds of surprise her stupor showing slightly as well. "That's Nee-chan's last name." Kousuke muttered, trying to make ends of the new information.

"Yea, but the dude doesn't really look like her. Their eyes are different, and their hair, and their facial structure. Maybe a distant relative?" Shuuya turned to Momo and Tsubomi, the question lingering in the air.

Tsubomi gave a shrug, bored eyes flicking across the room. "Maybe they just have the same last name. It wouldn't be too much of a coincidence for that to happen, after all." She looked down, quickly bored with the new announcement even though her eyes had already betrayed her thoughts, and Momo couldn't really disagree with her. The teacher aid looked rather worse for wear, and his smiles weren't really normal; eerie and abstract.

But then again, Tsubomi's were also anything but normal. Momo made a face of laughter, turning back to her work, finishing quickly enough, and then turning to help Shuuya, the boy still struggling with staying focused.

. . .

"_Oi, oi, Momo-chan~ Shouldn't you think of doing something else with your appearance? You look rather… provocative~ I'm sure all the boys will be crawling over you~ That's not very good, is it? Hmmm?"_

"_W-what are you talking about?! I look fine!"_

"_Well, you look like you're just asking for it, sweetie~ You really should go home and think about your choices more~ They could use some work, hon."_

"_What are you going on about? Do you think I look like this because I want to?! I can't choose my genetics!"_

"_But seriously, she looks like a slut, don't you think?"_

"_Yea. I agree entirely. She just wants all the guys to notice her. How disgusting."_

'_Why do you keep saying that, that's not it at all, I hate how I look, I really do, why do you keep saying that.'_

"_Mo~mo-chan~ Wanna go to my house to work?"_

"_Sorry… I'm not really in the mood today, Shuu-kun…"_

"_Is it them again?"_

"…"

"_I knew it… I thought they stopped after I yelled at them…"_

"_Y-you don't need to be too upset about-"_

"_They're insulting you terribly! I can't just sit around! Tsubomi agrees!"_

"_I… can't stop what other people think…"_

"_Maybe not you, but _I _can, and I will!"_

"_S…shuu-kun…"_

. . .

Momo raised her head from the desk, the dream quickly leaving her as sleep started to fall away from her eyes. She held her head, giving a groan as she realized what it was about before the memory disappeared entirely, the feeling still touching her mind.

'I really owe Shuu-kun a lot, huh…?' She rubbed her head as Tsubomi and Kousuke looked at her with slightly worried eyes, until she gave a smile, and Kousuke turned back around, giving a yawn. She blinked her eyes a few times as she tried to free the rest of the sleep-feeling from them, her vision still slightly fuzzy.

The teacher aide went around the classroom and checked people's papers, standing next to a few students who Momo knew struggled in the class quite often.

"I hope we don't have to talk to him much…" Momo didn't realize that she had said her thought aloud until she saw Tsubomi nod with agreement, her head resting in her right hand, pencil gone.

Shuuya gave a shrug himself, not really caring if the aide took up a conversation or not. "I dunno, he doesn't look that bad personality wise, I guess, but I can't really judge."

Momo gave a sigh, swaying in her desk. "I wanna go home…"

"We all do." Kousuke shook his head sadly. "I need to talk to Marry, and Taka-nee needs help at home… At least we have Haruka-senpai."

"Hopefully this year won't be as bad as last…" Momo glanced outside, watching the sakura trees continue to rain petals down.

"Winter was ok, I guess…" Shuuya avoided her eyes as she glanced at him and Tsubomi. Tsubomi gave a shrug, acting indifferent. The emotion was common shown in her visage as of late.

"The new year's festival was fun, though." The added sentence from Shuuya was enough to make Momo a little more relieved for his psyche.

Kousuke visibly shuddered, shaking his head while closing his eyes. "I hate fireworks though… They set off my powers…!"

Momo and Shuuya gave chuckles as they remembered what had happened to the boy, and the strawberry blonde gave a smile as she remembered the memory in a more precise detail.

Tsubomi huffed, crossing her arms while giving off an air of annoyance. "Well, we didn't know that you would shrink to an incredibly small size!"

"Yea, but I had to re-tie my yukata and everything!" He shivered, holding his arms to his chest. "It was cold!"

"Save up to buy something better then!" The girl was relentless sometimes…

Momo chuckled, relieved that the group could still crack occasional jokes throughout the stress. She turned her head as Tsubomi looked out the window again, watching the petals fall.

"Maybe ninth grade won't be so bad… It's our last year of middle school after all…" She had a bored look on her face, giving a sigh after her statement.

Kousuke gave a shrug, recovering from the memory. "I don't see how it could be any worse than last year…" He trailed off as Tsubomi and Shuuya gave him a look of disapproval. He gulped and looked away, giving a nervous smile to Momo, and the girl gave one back to reassure the younger boy.

She sighed and turned her head as Tsubomi looked back, the teacher and teacher aid walking in to begin the math lesson.

"Why did Mr. Tateyama come anyway? He seems fine with teaching." Shuuya leaned over to Momo, hoping the girl would be able to answer his question that was near impossible to obtain a response for.

"Well, if you want to teach middle school, practice makes perfect, I guess. Maybe he doesn't know for sure yet what his specific style is." Momo gave a shrug as Shuuya turned around, looking back to the front of the classroom so that the teachers wouldn't chide their lack of attentiveness.

. . .

Momo turned her head as Shuuya shifted his backpack on his back, looking out the window absentmindedly. She blinked a few times, tilting her head slightly. "You seem in thought again."

"Is it about what you and Tsubomi-chan talk about behind our backs?"

Shuuya's eyes narrowed slightly for a second before he turned to Momo, giving off his signature smile. "What? We're just talking about trite things that I figured you wouldn't want to hear! It's boring after all~"

"Like what." Momo kept her voice flat, not wanting to show any emotion to Shuuya. 'Come on. You're bluffing. I know it.'

"Just about school things and love lives. Kousuke might be getting popular and I bug her about things that make guys popular, you know?" He gave a completely fake smile that only she, Kousuke and Tsubomi would be able to see through.

"Stop lying."

Shuuya blinked quickly, tilting his head slightly. "Lying? Momo-chan~ I thought you knew me better than that!" His hair fell around his face, eyes closed, and Momo knew that it was to hide them; 'Eyes are the key to the soul.'

Momo closed her eyes so that Shuuya wouldn't see the tears start to rise up in her optics. "It's not that… I'm worried for you two, ok? And I know you're lying! You do it so much… I want you to stop…!" She couldn't stop the note of a sad wail from rising up to the conclusion, and she hoped that the boy would at least reconsider _some_ of his actions.

Silence followed her sentence, and she wondered if Shuuya had walked away, until her eyes slowly opened to see his sad face in front of hers, giving a sigh while golden optics looked to the side, unable to meet her eye-to-eye.

"I'd tell you… I really would… But after all… It's something so serious that you could die."

He was completely and utterly serious, clearly evident by his lowered tone, and Momo's eyes widened.

"…Death…?"

"Tsubomi and Taka-nee are taking the issue fine, since after all they can help. In your position, you can't, and I don't want to worry you. After all, I've already said too much as it is. Be safe, Momo-chan. Go home to your brother and sleep." He padded down the hallway, disappearing into the shadows caused by the falling sun, the eerie tone of his voice lingering in the air, floating around.

Momo stood still, thinking about his words, letting them stir in her mind as she tried to comprehend them a little better, thinking about what kind of things would make for a worrying fright like that.

The opening of a classroom door startled her out of her stupor, and she turned to see who the person was, feeling slightly embarrassed at her slight shriek.

"Ah. Kisaragi-san. I thought you and Kano-kun would have left already."

It was the teacher aid, holding a stack of papers. Momo turned and gave a nervous smile, rubbing her head in a nervous way. "Ahh, we were heading out, but I paused and he ended up leaving without me~"

The teacher nodded, looking to the side while adjusting his glasses. "You should probably go home. It's late."

Momo gave a nod, hitching her bag up her back further, turning to go down the steps and heading out the double doors, leaving the building quickly.

. . .

'Someone's following me…'

The thought barely flashed across her mind, but Momo was able to confirm it in the short span of its existence, slightly tilting her head to let her peripheral vision scan over the area, but unable to find the suspect.

She gave a shiver, and lowered her head, staring at the ground as she walked further, watching fallen petals scatter around her toes.

'What if… it's that voice from then?'

She turned around, stopping in her tracks, feeling a sudden spike of determination rain through her system. "Show yourself! I know it's you!"

Her voice dripped with defiance, and she hoped, through her nervous sweat, that she wasn't correct with her accusations, but much to her chagrin, the voice gave a chuckle, refusing to slip out of the shadows.

"Hmm, you sure are perceptive, Momo-chan~ How did you know I was here?"

"You walk loudly, and I could feel your disgusting gaze." She spat out the words quickly, making sure that they made an emphasis on the point. She could only just hear the slight slip of shoes on the ground, and she knew that the dried sakura petals were probably to blame.

"It's not like I'm a pedophile! I'm just trying to help you gain the ability to make your dreams into reality! You do want that, don't you? You want to take Shuuya for your own, right? I can help you." She could almost hear the voice smirk at her dilemma.

Momo huffed, feeling her face grow a bit red. "A person isn't some item that anyone can control! What kind of methods would you use anyway? Torture? He wouldn't willingly give himself up to anyone! Not even Tsubomi-chan!"

She froze as she realized her slip of the tongue, and closed her mouth quickly. "So you've admitted that they have something, hmm?" The voice taunted her, begging her to grow angry and jealous at something she could not have.

Momo clenched her fists, refusing to bow under the voice's demands. "Shuu-kun admitted that it was something bigger than a petty feeling matter! Go away! I'm not talking to you!"

"You haven't even figured out who I am yet~ How do you know that I don't follow you everywhere?" It took on a new tone that wasn't quite so zealous.

Momo froze in the middle of turning around, eyes widening while more sweat rolled down the side of her face.

"The way you talk sure makes you sound like a pedophile."

"I'm just stating an obvious fact. Night night, Momo-chan. Run along home to your big brother." The voice gave a slight chuckle.

There was no answer from the girl, and she heard the slip of feet walking away, into the distance where the noise faded altogether. Momo stood there, shivering, for a few moments before she headed off to her house to tell Shintarou what had happened, hoping with a steady trust that she had just imagined the whole thing.

. . .

Momo tugged on Shuuya's sleeve, while Tsubomi gave a yawn, bags under her eyes, along with the blond's, both having clearly stayed up late. "I'm serious! His voice sounded like the teacher aide's!" She couldn't contain the slight wail of worry from rising in her voice.

"I dunno, they'd not let him be an aide if he was a pedophile. I think you're just not getting enough sleep and imagining someone that you dislike doing something bad so you have dirt on them." His slight slur of speech and grammar issues deemed the matter final; Momo would have to check on his sleep schedule more often.

"If anyone's not getting enough sleep, it's you two." Kousuke grunted, looking at Tsubomi and Shuuya through slightly narrowed eyes.

Shuuya stuck his tongue out in a teasing way and turned back to his classwork, leaving Momo hanging as she gave a rueful sigh, trekking back to her desk to complete her own problems.

Tsubomi leaned over, blowing on Momo's hair. "Are you serious?"

Momo gave a slow nod, feeling her hair settle back into place again. "I know it's him… He's been following me since… Eight grade it feels like…"

"Well, July is soon enough, and with that summer break, so it should stop soon, right?" Tsubomi gave a worried glance to Kousuke, who shrugged, not knowing what to do to add input to the topic.

"It probably should… Maybe he's the father of one of the girls who bullied me."

"That would be weird, but I guess we didn't know any of them by name, so…?" Shuuya glanced at the two girls.

"No, that's way too weird."

Momo gave a sigh after hearing Kousuke rebuke to the conversation. "Yea. I guess so."

"We shouldn't be like Shuuya, though, and leave the conversation to rest, but I can't think of anything else to say, really." Tsubomi gave a sigh, resting her head in her hands while she looked out the window, trying to figure out something.

Momo let her head fall onto her desk as she tried forgetting the ordeal, letting the classroom noises replace the feeling instead.

. . .

"So you think someone's stalking you?" Ayano set aside the bowl after she set the wet washcloth on Shintarou's head, the latter giving another series of coughs, and Momo nodded her head, feeling her hair settle near her shoulders.

"It's been happening for a while now, but it's not what you'd say is… ordinary…" She let her eyes run around the room, at a loss for words.

Ayano sipped from her glass, the clinking sound reverberating across the small room. "What do you mean by that?"

"He… He says that he can grant my wishes…"

Ayano blinked, tilting her head slightly, her brown hair falling off of her shoulder. "That sounds pretty weird. Stuff like that can't happen after all."

"What kind of wishes did he say you had? Or was he general?" Shintarou's weak voice sounded out across the room.

Momo turned to her brother. "He knows about Shuu-kun and Tsubomi-chan. He mentioned them by name. A few days ago, anyway, but the other times he was definitely talking about them according to connotation."

"How do you even know it's a guy? It could be using a voice scrambler thingie or whatever." Ayano looked up in thought.

Shintarou gave a sigh, glancing at the younger girl. "Things like that don't work like you say."

She gave a nervous chuckle, rubbing her cheek. "Ahh… I thought that it worked like in movies…"

Momo gave a sigh as well, but instead of chastising Ayano's lack of logic, she brought the topic back to what it started as. "I guess maybe I'm just delusional or something."

"Well, if something else happens, tell us right away, ok?"

"Ok~"

once again there is still no line so here you can read this while I transition

Golden: So I'm annoyed about the line option being gone but hey whatever

I'm sorry about the major delay, I had some problems with school (ap world history mainly) but now I'm back in business~ Also, this chapter is longer than normal as well. The pace will be picking up soon~ Ufufufufu

Happy reading~


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